The Potter And The Weasley Kids Do Hogwarts
by Elle Winters
Summary: Rose is thinking of 'doing it' with Scorpius Malfoy, Al is unsure whether Leanne is really 'the one', Lily's trying to get 'that guy' to notice her, and Hugo's still banned from even going near an internet search engine. And James is, well, being James!
1. The Condoms

Harry Potter was on the war-path.

"Lily!" he yelled as he stormed up the stairs. "Lily Potter, you get out her, _right now!_"

There was a click as Lily Potter pulled open her door.

"What, dad?" she asked, looking annoyed.

"I'll give you 'what now', young lady! What is this?!"

He held up a box of condoms.

Lily raised her eyebrows.

"They're condoms, dad," she replied, looking bored.

"I know perfectly well what they are, and don't give me that cheek! What I want to know is why _you_ have them in your trunk!"

"Because they gave them to us at school," she said, looking over her shoulder as her IM flashed up a new message.

"It-what?"

"The school. Gave us condoms. For protection."

Harry blinked.

"Hogwarts gave you these?" he stammered, looking confused.

"Yah," she said, rolling her eyes. "So there's no need to panic – I'm not having sex with anyone."

She watched as her dad blushed red.

"Oh, right," he said gruffly. "Right, well, uh, I-"

"Can I go now?" she asked tonelessly, itching to get back to her computer.

"Um, yes. Yes, of course you-"

"Thanks," she said, reaching out and taking the box of condoms.

"Uh, excuse me, Lily-" began Harry, but Lily cut him off.

"Dad, you're old enough to be able to cast a contraception-charm – I'm not letting you and mum use these when maybe someday I'll be in need of them."

And with that, she shut the door, leaving a gawping Harry in her wake.

"You," she said, without looking round, "Owe me."

Rose Weasley moved away from the door, looking thoroughly relieved.

"You are an angel, Lily Potter," she said gratefully, plonking herself back down on the bed she'd quickly vacated when she'd heard her uncle's thunderous voice.

"I don't know why you didn't just put them in your trunk," said Lily, rolling her eyes as she put down the box and clicked open her new message.

"In_ my_ trunk?!" she cried, looking horror-struck. "Do you _want_ my dad to die of a heart-attack?"

Lily sniggered.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about him. Has he gotten over finding that video on Hugo's mobile yet?"

"No," sighed Rose. "Hu's still grounded for a month. I know mum tried to talk to him about it, but he's having none of it. He wanted to confiscate my mobile too, but I pointed out to him the fact that I was a girl interested in guys, and was unlikely to have any of the stuff Hu had on his phone on mine. He just went really red and had to be comforted by my mum."

"Yeah, my mum was telling me about this time when he walked in on her kissing one of her old boyfriends. Apparently he hit the roof and they nearly duelled. My dad stopped them, though."

"I'm surprised I'm even here, considering what a prude he is about sex," said Rose, looking thoughtful.

"Yeah, well, you saw _my_ dad's reaction, and he's not _nearly_ as uptight as Uncle Ron!"

"But he must know that at least _one_ of his kids is having sex, surely! I mean, James is a bit of man-whore, let's face it."

"Yeah, well, I think Dad just turns a blind-eye when it comes to matters involving James."

"Mmm," agreed Rose.

"So," grinned Lily, her eyes suddenly lighting up. "How's it going with you-know-who? You two had sex yet?"

* * *

Whilst this conversation was going on, Ginny Weasley was in the process of pouring her husband a large glass of Fire Whiskey.

"Condoms!" said Harry hoarsely, accepting the drink. "She's only sixteen, Gin!"

"Yes, the legal age for any witch or wizard to have sexual intercourse," she said softly, sitting down next to him. "Lily's a smart girl, she knows what she's doing. And anyway, I thought you said the school gave them to her?"

"She did. But that doesn't mean she's telling the truth!"

"Who says so? Harry, sweetheart, I really think you're getting a little too stressed out about this! _I_ was only sixteen when I lost _my_ virginity. To you, I might add."

Harry blushed.

"Yes, but that was different-"

"How?" laughed Ginny, shaking her head. "Because it was you?"

"Yes! I mean no! I mean – we loved each other, and as far as _I'm_ aware, Lily hasn't even got a boyfriend!"

"Yes, but we know someone _else _who's dating someone," Ginny said pointedly, raising her eyebrows.

"You don't think-" gasped Harry, his eyes widening. "You don't think they're _Al_'s, do you?!"

"It's a possibility," shrugged Ginny. "He's been dating Leanne for a while now."

"But-but-but he's Al! Al who cried when James received a valentine's card and he didn't! Al who actually believed all the rubbish that James fed him, despite all our reassurances! Al who's dating _Neville's_ daughter! _Neville's_ daughter, Ginny, _Neville's_!"

"Harry," replied Ginny stonily, "Just because Neville was devoid of any action at Hogwarts, it doesn't mean to say that _Leanne _is. She's always the life and soul of any party I've been to (aside from Lily, of course). And he does love her. A lot. He was practically a shell when she went away for those two weeks last summer!"

"But he's Al!" moaned Harry again. "He can't be having sex!"

"Who's having sex?" asked a voice from behind them. "Not you two, I hope – that'd just be totally gross!"

They both looked round to see their oldest son stood in the doorway, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hey, James" smiled Ginny. "You have a good day at work?"

James snorted.

"Oh, yeah – filing is just _so_ exciting!"

"Now, James," said Harry sternly. "You know that job's only temporary until-"

"Yeah, yeah, until I decide what I want to do with my life," interrupted James, opening the fridge and pulling out a can of coke. "I still don't understand why you won't just let me be a professional play-boy. _Anyway_," he said loudly, before his dad could interrupt him and berate him for not wanting to do something more 'worthwhile', "If you were thinking that those condoms belonged to Al then you'd be wrong. Him and Leanne have decided that they're going to wait until they get married before they have sex. Apparently it'll '_mean'_ more that way." He shook his head, as though this idea were completely absurd.

"And they aren't Lily's," he continued, opening the can and taking a sip. "She's all hung up on this guy in Ravenclaw who doesn't even know she's alive. Nah, I'd say your best bet is Rose."

"Rose?!" cried Harry and Ginny together.

"Ron and Hermione's Rose?!" asked Ginny, looking gobsmacked.

"No, the one that's growing in the garden," replied James sarcastically. "Yes, Ron and Hermione's Rose! I mean, everyone knows she's got that thing going with Scorpius Malfoy…"

"What?!"


	2. The Bomb

"Rose and Sc-Scorpius M-Malfoy?" spluttered Harry, staring at his son in horror.

"Mmm," said James casually, swilling the contents of his coke can and then downing it all in one go.

Harry looked over at his wife, who was mirroring his own expression exactly.

James burped appreciatively, crunched up the empty can and tossed it in the bin, smirking all the while as he imagined the thoughts racing through his parents' heads.

His mum and dad were _so_ easy to wind up…

"Well," he said breezily, "I'm off to take a shower. I'm supposed to be meeting this muggle girl in town for drinks, and I'm already ten minutes late. Ciao."

And with a hearty wave, he left the kitchen, leaving his parents to contemplate how ballistic Ron would go if he ever found out that his daughter was sleeping with Draco Malfoy's son.

James was met at the top of the stairs by Lily and Rose, who were heading downstairs to get some food.

"I wouldn't go in the kitchen just now, if I were you," he told them with a grin.

Lily and Rose eyed him suspiciously.

"What did you do?" asked Lily without preamble.

James grinned even wider.

"Oh, you'll see," he said to her, then looked at Rose pointedly. "And I suggest you find yourself a pair of earmuffs."

Rose frowned.

"Why?" she asked confusedly.

"Because you're probably gonna get deafened as soon as you open the door," he snickered, congratulating himself silently for his pure comedic genius.

"Why?" said Lily this time.

"Oh, you'll see," he replied happily, motioning to walk past them.

They stopped him, however.

"James Potter, if you've said _anything_ that will get us into trouble, I will _personally_ castrate you and feed you to one of Charlie's dragons!"

James winced slightly at the castration part.

"Now, now, dear Lily, I speak nothing but the truth-"

Lily and Rose both snorted.

"And, unfortunately, the truth will out!"

And, with a crack, he was gone.

Lily looked worriedly at Rose, who was looking very nervous.

"What did that mean?" she said.

"I have no idea," replied Rose, biting her lip, "But I can bet that it was nothing good."

They made their way slowly down the stairs, both wracking their brains as to what James could possibly have told Lily's parents.

Once they'd reached the kitchen door, they pushed it open awkwardly, afraid of what they might encounter when they'd entered.

They were pleasantly surprised, however, to find that no one was inhabiting the place, and each breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank God for that," said Lily loudly, putting a hand over her rapidly beating heart. "I was sure something awful was going to happen."

There was a _CRASH!_ as the back door flew open and smacked against the wall.

Lily and Rose both screamed and grabbed the other.

"Rose Weasley," roared Ron Weasley, "You are in _big_ trouble!"

"Ron, please, calm down!" pleaded his wife. "Nothing's going to get sorted out if you're not sensible about it!"

"Sensible?! _Sensible!_" he cried, staring at his wife, his face as red as his hair. "Our daughter is sleeping with Scorpius Malfoy!"

"_What?!_" screeched Rose and Lily together, looking shocked.

"No, I'm not!"

"No, she's not!"

"Dad, I don't know who you've been talking to, but I am _not_ sleeping with Scorpius Malfoy!" stressed Rose, looking aghast.

Ron narrowed his eyes.

"Are you sure?" he said, looking suspicious.

"Yes!" cried Rose, appealing to her mum for support. "Mum, tell him!"

All eyes turned to Hermione.

"Tell me what?" said Ron, his eyes narrowing.

"Now, Ron, don't fly off the handle, please," said Hermione, trying to look firm.

"What's going on?" glared Ron, looking suspicious as he glanced between his wife and his daughter.

"Ron," said Hermione, in a strained voice, "I know Rose isn't sleeping with Scorpius Malfoy because she already has a boyfriend..."

"WHAT?!"

* * *

Whilst Ron was having a coronary, Ginny and Harry were stuck in his back garden, frozen into place.

"I told you we shouldn't have said anything!" Ginny spat at Harry.

Harry glared back.

"How was _I_ meant to know Ron would go ballistic?!"

"Because he's RON!!"

* * *

James was just about to get into the shower when he heard the explosion downstairs and grinned.

Finally, _finally_, all eyes wouldn't be on him! Rose would be the one to be told off and watched all the time!

He glanced absent-mindedly out of the window and then did a double-take.

His parents were stood in the middle of his Uncle and Aunt's back-garden, frozen in the motion of running forward.

Opening the window, he yelled down, "Oi! What're you two doing?"

He saw them both try to look up and couldn't help but grin at the annoyance that flashed across both of their faces.

"James! Get down here, _right now _and unfreeze us!" shouted his father, his eyes straining to look up at his son.

"Harry, don't be so rude!" his mum reprimanded him. "James, sweetheart, can you please come down and take this spell off us!"

James' eyes lit up with mischief. He realised that he had a golden opportunity on his hands…

* * *

"Dad, seriously, he's really lovely!" Rose was saying, pleading for her father to return to normal colour.

"He is, Uncle Ron," added Lily, trying with all her might to help her cousin out of this rather dire situation.

"What's his name, blood-status, age, house and how many previous girlfriends has he had?!" demanded Ron, clenching his fists.

"Ron!" cried Hermione, looking disapproving. "What does it _matter_ what his blood-status is?!"

"No daughter of mine is going to date a pure-blood," Ron stated coldly, shaking his head.

"Dad!"

"Don't you 'Dad!' me, Rose Weasley. Now, get on with it!"

Rose rolled her eyes.

"Alright, _father_: his name is Liam Turner, he's _half-blood_, he's 17, in Ravenclaw, and, as far as I'm aware, he's had two serious girlfriends. Is that ok for you?"

Ron opened his mouth to answer that, no, it wasn't ok, and why didn't those two 'serious' relationships work out, but Hermione cut across him, and said hurriedly, "Yes, it is! Ron, Rose is old enough to date now, and I really think that you need to understand that!"

"Oh, sure, ok, Hermione! I'll just sit back and let my little girl get screwed around my some stupid git, who…"

Rose and Lily silently edged out of the kitchen and closed the door quietly behind them…

* * *

"…And you'll let me have custody of the car at least twice a week, and definitely on Saturdays-"

"YES!" roared Harry. "Now un-freeze us!"


	3. The Letters

Five weeks later, the Potter and the Weasley children were preparing to go to Hogwarts. Yes, even James.

"You've got _what_?!" cried Lily, staring at him disbelievingly.

"I've got a job at good old Hoggers!" repeated James, grinning from ear to ear, enjoying the shock on his little sister's face.

"Doing _what_?!" she shouted, not being able to comprehend the idea of James being on the Hogwarts teaching staff.

"Oh, you shall see, oh ye of little faith, you shall see," he informed her merrily, before purposefully smacking into her with his trunk as he wheeled it the rest of the way down the hall.

"OW!! JAMES, YOU LITTLE SH-"

* * *

Al could hear his elder brother and younger sister fighting on the floor below.

Shaking his head, he finished folding up his remaining clothes, and neatly placed them into his school trunk, along with the rest of his other belongings, including a rather battered piece of old parchment, which had aided him and his best friend Jessie Goldstein in having all sorts of adventures.

He still felt pride at the thought that his dad had entrusted the map to him, rather than his brother James, who would have no doubt used it in his endless quest to be crowned the next 'Fred and George', along with his best mate Fred, whose father happened to be the 'George' in the afore mentioned 'Fred and George', and-well, you get the gist.

Basically, James was not as sensible as Al, and never wanted to be either.

Al, on the other hand, liked the rules.

James had once likened him to his Uncle Percy, in fact, something Al was not particularly happy about. He wasn't _that_ anal.

No, he just liked the safety of rules, and only broke them for harmless exploring around the castle. He was not exactly what you would call excessive.

His thoughts were interrupted by a tapping noise at the window, and he turned around to see a large tawny owl hovering outside, a letter clutched in its beak.

He smiled, and headed over to let it in.

The owl moved out of the way as he swung the door open, then flew gracefully inside, and landed on the perch next to Al's own owl, Niffler.

Al closed the window, walked over to the perch, and took the letter gently from the owl's beak.

Once free of the letter, the owl ruffled its feathers and hopped over to the bowl of water that had been placed on the bookshelf next to her.

Al was busily tearing open the envelope, and pulled out a short piece of pink parchment, which smelt vaguely like peppermint.

Unfolding it, he read:

_Hello, Sweetie,_

_How are you? Mum and Dad are putting the finishing touches to the newly refurbished pub, and all the noise from the builders is driving me insane! Why they couldn't have used magic is anybody's guess, but there you go!_

_I'm so excited about seeing you, really I am! I can't believe I got the opportunity to work in America for two months, though, so I hope you forgive me for for-going spending time with you, and instead embarking on two months of American life!_

_Anyway, I must get off – I need to catch up on a bit of studying._

_Can't wait to see you on September 1__st_

_I love you!_

_Leannexxx_

Al smiled fondly as he put the letter in the tin he used to keep all of the other letters and bits and pieces that reminded him of his and Leanne's relationship.

He had been quite surprised that he had found himself not too distressed at the idea of Leanne being away all summer. Last year, when she had gone away for only two weeks, he had felt as though his whole world was collapsing. Now, though, he was happy to go without seeing her for a while. Perhaps he was becoming more mature…

A crash behind him made him jump about a mile in the air, and when he turned around to see what had caused the noise, he saw a very dazed looking screech owl fluttering outside his window.

Laughing, he once again went over and pushed the window open, helping the befuddled owl inside.

Luckily, its owner had thought to tie the letter around its leg, rather than place it in his beak, having known from past experiences that the owl was prone to dropping things mid-flight.

Detaching the letter from around the owl's leg, he gently plopped the screech owl next to the water bowl, which Leanne's owl had now finished drinking from.

He unfolded the parchment, and grinned:

**Hey, Hunky,**

**How's life in the land of the rich and famous?**

**Ok, yes, you live in a fairly modest, semi-detached house, with three floors, and a couple of shared bathrooms, whereas I live in a super chic, ten-bed mansion-place, but that's only because my dad knows how to make lots of money – having a dad who managed to defeat the most powerful and evil wizard of all time is just a little bit cooler. I am, of course, only your bessie mate because I think your dad's hot… Erlack. Not really. Nice, but not hot. You, on the other hand (wink, wink)…**

**Soooo, as you can probably tell, I'm in the weirdest mood ever; I think I'm getting withdrawal symptoms from Hogwarts. My weirdness is just plain weird away from Hogwarts – at least when I'm there it's just referred to as quirkiness! But, Dumblydore (as Hagrid's fancy-woman likes to refer to him as) was always a bit of a nutter, so, really, I think it should be applauded.**

**Nevertheless, I cannot wait to get back to school. It is beyond me how someone could not want to go there – seriously, magic is so much fun!**

**Talking of fun, how did you get along with finding out about new places to go exploring? I tried to talk to Luna when she came round with the twins (mad, absolutely mad) but she just started blathering on about all the new and exciting things she and old Rolf had discovered when they'd been on holiday (including a bat with the head of a pig – bit difficult to fly, I would imagine), so it's all down to you, four-eyes!**

**Ooh, I nearly forgot to ask: how did Leanne enjoy America? Find any new wizard to go off with? No? Shame. Looks like I'm going to have to spend another year pining for you…**

**Oh, well, never mind!**

**Patrick Finnigan is looking pretty tasty now; perhaps I'll reacquaint myself with him.**

**Anywho, must dash; I, er, forgot we were going back to Hogwarts tomorrow, and so haven't actually started packing anything yet…**

**Ciao, baby!**

**xxxxxxxxxx**

**p.s. It's Jessie, by the way.**

Al shook his head, still grinning. He loved Jessie, she was an absolute riot. So, so different from his girlfriend. But Leanne had her own merits, too. No, he, Al, really did have a pretty good life: a nice, steady relationship, and a best friend he could rely on. What more could a guy want?

He hastily scribbled back replies to both letter, adding onto the end of Jessie's that he'd kept Billie (her owl) behind, as he didn't look fit to fly, and would instead bring him on the train with him the next day; in the meantime, she was welcome to use Niffler.

Once all the owls had gone, and Billie was safely shut away for a rest, Al finished packing and banged the lid of his trunk close.

Somebody knocked softly on the door just as he was about to open it.

Stepping out of the way as it opened, he smiled as his mum came through the door.

Seeing how happy he looked, Ginny asked, with a laugh, "You look like the cat that's got the cream, Al; gotten a letter from Leanne, have you?"

To Ginny's surprise, Al's face didn't light up like it normally did whenever Leanne's name was mentioned.

Instead, he shrugged, still smiling, and said, "Yeah, I did. Sounds like she had fun in America. Jessie sent me a letter too, though. Really funny. She's such a nutter."

Ginny smiled, but this time her eyes narrowed slightly.

For when Al said Jessie's name, his face lit up, just as it used to do for Leanne…

"So are you and Leanne still going strong, then?" she asked now, watching his eyes carefully.

"Yep," shrugged Al, hoisting his trunk into standing position. "Can't wait to see her. Or Jessie, for that matter. Ooh, I hope she's thought of some really good pranks to pull on the Slytherins – I-I mean," he added hastily, realising what he'd just said.

Ginny grinned.

"I never heard a word. Now, hurry up and put your trunk in the car; we need to get off to Grandma and Granddad's soon."

She watched as Al dragged his trunk past her, then shook her head.

Oh, dear, she thought, a small smile appearing on her lips, looks like the little chap has no idea what's happening to him…

Before she could think on it further, however, there was an almighty crash two floors below, and Lily's dulcet tones rang all the way upstairs.

"JAMES POTTER!!"


	4. The Journey

Ginny had diplomatically placed Al between Lily and James on the journey to the Weasley's.

Having 'accidentally' magicked Lily's trunk onto her foot, James was in a rather high state of peril. Ginny knew that Lily was just as hot-headed as she was at that age, and was not running the risk of Lily and James getting into a fight and flying out of the car half-way down the M25. No, it was much better to put Al next to James. He, at least, did not respond to James' teasing with violence…

"So, Al," James was saying now, over the screeching of some god-awful guitar solo from a band Harry insisted on listening to. "How's Jessie doing? You two shagged yet?"

They all lurched forward as Harry's foot crashed down on the brake pedal.

"James!" he shouted, swearing profusely as he narrowly avoided crashing into the central reservation. "Do not ask such rude and probing questions like that to Al! Especially not in front of me and your mum!"

"Oh, come on Dad," said James, rolling his eyes, and leaning back leisurely in his seat. "Al's a big boy; he can take care of himself. So, yeah, Albus Severus, I ask again: have you done the dirty with Jessie yet?"

Ignoring his dad's rebuke, he started wide-eyed at Al, making a rather rude hand gesture.

"James! God, that's so gross, and, _no_, Jessie and I have _not_ 'done the dirty'! I'm with Leanne, remember?!"

"Pfft," said James, unperturbed. "Leanne's so frigid you could present her with a whole stack of porn mags and she still wouldn't be in the mood!"

Al winced as the radio was turned up, and said loudly, "Don't be such a git, James! Just because you stick it in wherever you can, it doesn't mean I want to! I'm happy not to be doing anything with Leanne. I love her, and will wait!"

The radio was turned up even louder.

James had to practically shout back at him, "That's so sad, mate! You're a red-blooded male, not some stupid, namby-pamby poof, whose only chance at anything resembling sex is watching the other guys get changed after quidditch!"

James ducked as Al threw the book he'd been reading at him.

"Jesus Christ!" yelled Harry as the book smashed into the window behind him. "What the hell was that?!"

"You shut your mouth, James!" roared Al, trying to punch James in the face.

"Ginny, do something!" shouted Harry, swerving violently into the middle-lane as James crashed into the back of his chair.

"PROTEGO!" screamed Ginny, and Al was flung into Lily's lap, whilst James smacked painfully into the window.

"Harry, pull-in at the next Service Station," she said angrily, glaring at her two teenage sons, who were both breathing heavily, shooting evils at the other. "I think we need a chat."

* * *

Ron swore as he saw Harry's car swerve in front of them, and could see Al and James fighting in the back, Lily leaning back, trying to get out of the way, and Ginny yelling angrily at them.

"Bloody hell, what's going on in there?!" he said, staring round at Hermione who was watching the car in front in horror.

"I have no idea, but-look, Harry's signalling to turn off at the next junction. I think we should probably follow him."

Ron checked his mirrors, signalled, and then pulled across to the far lane, following Harry as they headed for the exit.

"I bet James was rude about Leanne, or something," said Rose from the backseat. "He's always teasing him about them wanting to remain virgins until they're married."

Ron's hands jerked on the steering wheel, and they swayed dangerously close to the crash barrier.

"Ron, don't do that!" Hermione reprimanded him, rolling her eyes.

She looked round at Rose.

"Why is wanting to savour that step of your relationship a bad thing?" she asked, frowning.

"Well, it's not, but James thinks it's sad or something. Probably because he doesn't know what a real relationship is, because he's always just looking for a quick-"

Ron coughed pointedly.

"-bit of fun," continued Rose, rolling her eyes in a perfect imitation of her mum. "He just can't understand Al and Leanne's way of thinking."

"And can you?" asked Ron, staring at her in the rear-view mirror.

"Dad, we are not talking about this again – you know James only said all that stuff about Scorpius to get me in trouble!"

"Yeah, but what about this Liam-guy, huh? You are still dating someone, even if it isn't Malfoy."

"Mum!" Rose appealed to her.

"Ron, just drop it. She can make her own decisions."

Ron opened his mouth to argue, but closed it again after a quailing look from Hermione.

Instead, he shifted his attention to Hugo and said, "So, mate, are you actually going to grace us with your presence this time, or just stay shut up in your room with that stupid computer-thingy?"

"Uh, it's a gameboy, and yeah, probably. I'm not sitting through hours and hours of Uncle Percy banging on about the latest consignment of flobber-worms the Ministry's received, or whatever."

"Hugo, Uncle Percy doesn't work in the Department of Magical Creatures; he works for Kingsley…"

"Yeah, but whatever he talks about is just as boring as flobber-worms," Hugo pointed out.

"Fair enough," conceded Ron, indicating right into the car park they'd just reached. "If it gets too bad down there, I might join you."

"Ron, don't be so rude about your brother!"

"I'm not being rude, just stating the facts!" he said, causing Hugo and Rose to snort with laughter.

Hermione rolled her eyes again.

They pulled into a parking bay, and then all watched apprehensively as Ginny flung her door open, stormed round to the other side of the car, pulled open the back door, and angrily pulled James out of the car, whilst informing Al that she would be talking to him next.

She then dragged James over to the far-side of the car-park and let rip.

* * *

"Your behaviour is beyond belief!" Ginny roared at James, her face going as red as her hair. "How _dare_ you say such crude and immature things to Al! This attitude you've been adopting for most of your life has got to go! You are _nineteen_, James, _nineteen_! You are about to become an assistant to Hagrid at Hogwarts, and you _cannot_ display such an impertinent manner! You're in the real world now, James, and if you keep going on like this, you're likely to receive more than just a punch in the arm by your little brother-"

People walking by were beginning to stare, and James could feel himself going red, too.

"Mum, stop yelling," he muttered, avoiding eye contact with a pretty muggle girl who had just walked past, gaping at the scene Ginny was causing. "You're embarrassing me!"

If he thought this would cause Ginny to calm down, he was very, very wrong.

"_I'm_ embarrassing _you_?!" she cried shrilly, staring at him in disbelief. "James, this is serious! You could have caused an accident, fighting like that!"

"Bu-!" James protested, staring at his mum furiously. "But Al _started_ it! He was the one who threw the book at me and then _punched_ me!"

"Because you provoked him!" cried Ginny, shaking her head angrily. "And though I'm not saying he was right, it still doesn't excuse how rude you were being to him! Especially about Leanne – and Jessie, for that matter!"

"Mum, that is _so_ unfair!" wailed James. "You _always_ take Al's side!"

"And, until you start growing up, and taking responsibility for your own actions, that's the way it's going to be," Ginny told him coldly. "Now, get back in the car, and when we arrive at your Grandparent's, you are going straight to your room, do you understand me?"

James didn't even bother to answer, and instead turned around and stormed furiously back to the car.

He barged past Al, who had gotten out to wait for his mum to come back, and slammed the door so forcefully behind him that the window shattered.

Al ignored his dad's furious shouting, and instead walked over to his mum, who was still looking very angry.

Bowing his head, he said meekly, "I'm sorry that I overreacted and punched James. He just made me so _angry_, saying all that stuff about Leanne and Jessie, and then saying I was gay, and-"

"Al, I understand why you did what you did, but violence is never the answer. We very nearly crashed, and were lucky that it was your Uncle Ron behind us, and not some lunatic who was driving right next to us. Imagine if we'd hit someone!"

"I know, I know," said Al quietly, feeling ashamed. "I just… Well, I'm sorry, and I'll understand if your ground me when we get to Granddad and Grandma Weasley's…"

Ginny regarded her son silently for a moment, and then shook her head.

"No, I'm not going to ground you; to be honest, I don't think it will achieve anything. You seem sorry enough. James on the other hand…"

Al looked round to see his elder brother staring moodily at the back of his father's chair, which he had begun writing rude words on, using his wand.

He looked back at his mum, who was shaking her head again.

"I really don't know what to do with him," she said bitterly.

Al shuffled awkwardly on the spot.

Ginny focused back on him, and said, seriously, "Although you're not grounded, I am going to hold back a month's pocket-money, because I' still angry at what you did."

Al opened his mouth to protest, but closed it again, nodding.

"Ok. I can deal with that."

The pair of them headed back to the car, but instead of getting in the front, Ginny took the seat Al had been sat in.

"Just to make sure," she said, answering everyone's quizzical looks.

As Al climbed into the front seat, Harry's pocket started vibrating.

Pulling out his phone, he saw the called ID flashing up as 'Ron mob'.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, then hurriedly apologised for swearing. "I forgot all about Ron and Hermione!"

Flipping the phone opened, he said, "Ron, I'm so sorry! We completely forgot you were following us! Where are you?!"

"Erm, right behind you, mate," came his reply.

Harry looked around wildly and spotted Ron's Astra parked a few rows behind them.

He saw Ron wave, and grinned.

"That's alright then. We had a bit of an issue…" he said, glaring at James and Al in turn.

"Yeah, we noticed," replied Ron. "But don't worry about it. Are you getting off again now, then?"

"Yeah, I think so. Unless you want to buy anything whilst we're here?"

"Already done, mate. We're well stocked-up with crisps and magazines."

Harry laughed.

"Fair enough. Nobody here's getting anything, so we might as well be off. Speak to you in a couple of hours!"

"Bye!"

Harry flipped the phone closed, and put it back in his pocket.

"Right. Are well all set? Good. Let's go."


	5. The Burrow

The Potters and the Weasleys pulled into the lane that lead to the Weasley's front yard. Carefully avoiding running over any chickens, Ron pulled up behind Harry, and switched the engine off.

"Right," he said, turning around to face Hermione, Rose and Hugo, "Let's go through the survival plan, one more time. Rose and Hugo, you must accept your Grandmother's admonishment that you're both far too skinny, and let her ply you with every food known to man. Hermione, you and I will once again inform her, as politely as we possibly can, that we are not planning on having anymore children, no matter how many times she offers to babysit. None of us must yawn-"

"Or complain," added Hermione, knowing what was coming next.

"Or complain," repeated Ron, "When Percy starts talking about anything to do with his work; only grimacing behind his back is acceptable. Hugo, you and James will _not_ tell Molly and Lucy that the tree-house is haunted then jump out at them from behind the shrubs next to their favourite play-area. Percy and Audrey are _still_ going on about how you caused Molly to break her arm. And, also, I think James is in pretty big trouble, so I advise you keep your distance this evening; that means you too, Rose – no trying to pay him back for what he said the other week."

Rose rolled her eyes.

"Like I would waste my time on James," she scoffed, shaking her head. "Can we just go in now, dad? We've heard this speech a million times before – I _know_ how to handle Grandma!"

"Yes, off you go," said Hermione, before her husband could open his mouth, knowing full-well that he had a tendency to get wrapped up in his little pep-talks. "Don't forget: you are sweet and innocent – you have no idea what sex is."

"Yeah, yeah," said Rose and Hugo together, opening their doors and getting out.

Once they had been slammed shut, Hermione turned to Ron, and said, "Are we getting out own room this time?"

Ron smirked, and said, "Maybe…"

Hermione laughed and leant in to kiss him.

* * *

"-And James, if you are rude at all this evening, I will send you straight back to filing at the Ministry, do you understand me? I will not tolerate you being a world-class git, just because you're too immature to keep your mouth shut, got it?"

"Fine, whatever," muttered James moodily, even more angry now that his parents had taken away his car-keys, pocket-money, _and_ mobile phone. He didn't care that he was going to Hogwarts the next day, meaning that none of those things, aside from the money, would be of any use to him; he wanted his stuff back, and he wanted it now!

"Can I have my phone back?" he asked, rudely.

Harry and Ginny narrowed their eyes, and said, simultaneously, "NO."

"This is bullshit!" James said angrily, swinging the car door open, and storming out, making sure to slam it extra hard.

"JAMES!" roared Harry, attempting to get out of the car and follow him, but Ginny took his arm and pulled him back.

"Don't," she said firmly, shaking her head. "Just leave him to cool off for a bit."

"Ginny, he-"

"I know he was very rude, but nothing you say now is going to get through to him. He's just sore because we took away all the things that he lives for. Eventually he'll realise that acting like an immature fifteen year old isn't the way to go, and, when he does, he'll get all his stuff back. In the meantime, he'll have to suffer without it. I doubt it'll take him long to come around – he's probably got about fifty million girls on the go, and he can hardly woo them without his phone."

Harry appeared to struggle with himself for a moment and then nodded.

"Ok, we'll just leave him in his room; for the time being, anyway. Al, are you going to be alright around James, or am I going to have to separate the pair of you?"

"Dad, I'm not James – I know when to admit that I was wrong. I just want to go inside and have fun with my family."

"Suck up!" coughed Lily.

Al glared at her.

"Alright, you two, pack it in and go inside," said Harry. "Grandma Weasley will be wondering where you are."

Lily and Al hastened to obey, and as the last door slammed Harry let out a long sigh.

"I don't know how your mum and dad coped with seven children – I can barely deal with three!"

* * *

Ron and Hermione saw Harry and Ginny getting out of their car and called out.

They looked round as they close their doors and grimaced.

"Rough journey?" said Ron as they drew level.

"Understatement of the century," groaned Harry, rolling his eyes.

"What happened?" asked Hermione concernedly.

"James, his big gob, Al, Jessie, Leanne, and a book, is what happened," responded Ginny wearily, massaging her temples. "As much as I love my kids, they don't half get on my nerves sometimes!"

"At least you didn't catch your son watching porn," pointed out Ron, turning a nasty shade of green.

"No, James just partakes in it instead," countered Ginny.

The adults all looked at each other and shuddered.

"I miss being a teenager," said Ron, sadly, and the others all nodded in agreement.

* * *

"…And Lily, sweetheart, is it really necessary to wear such short skirts? Surely a nice pair of jeans would show off your figure better?"

Lily just smiled and gave her Grandma an obligatory kiss.

Al copied her actions and then headed for the kitchen.

Just as he was about to go through the door, a voice behind him said, "Alright, four-eyes? Gotten over your huff yet?"

Al felt his blood boil as James' words reawakened their earlier feud.

He span around, intending to give James a piece of his mind, but instead found himself face to face with Jessie Goldstein, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"What the-?"

"Ha, had you fooled!" she squealed happily, her voice still James'.

"How did you… how are you doing that?"

Jessie's grin widened as she put a hand to her mouth and spat out a small piece of semi-transparent plastic.

"Voice-Converters," she informed him, her voice back to normal, "Courtesy of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes."

Al raised his eyebrows, impressed.

"Nice. How much is Uncle George selling them for?"

"Two galleons each – apparently they're really difficult to make and incorporate muggle-technology. But I got mine for free."

"How come?"

"I promised him I'd use it to cause mischief!"

Al laughed.

"Well, you certainly nearly caused that. Or at least a punch-up."

"James ask you whether you'd shagged me yet?"

Al nearly choked on his own spit.

"How did you know that?!" he spluttered, turning red. "Did he-did James say something to you?"

"Well, he's always asking me that, and he was in a super foul mood when he barged past me a couple of minutes ago. He didn't even stop to ogle my boobs, so I knew something was up."

"God, I can't believe him!" growled Al angrily, contemplating going upstairs and transfiguring James into a toad.

"Don't even bother," said Jessie, calmly, seemingly reading Al's mind. "He's not worth the hassle. Plus, I reckon hanging out with me will be more satisfying – I've just found a load of your Uncle Ron's baby pictures in the attic…"

"No way!"

* * *

Whilst Al and Jessie excitedly made their way to the top of the house, Hugo was ignoring his parents' advice, and had gone to find James, who had in fact done what he'd been told, and was sitting on his bed, throwing an old tennis ball at the opposite wall and catching it as it rebounded.

"Grandpa Weasley will kill you if you make a hole in the wall," Hugo informed him.

"I don't care," said James, bitterly. "I'm sick of this stupid family and their stupid rules. Just because my dad was a bona fide saint by the time he was eleven, doesn't mean I've got to follow suit! I want to have a life, not walk around as though I've got the weight of the world on my shoulders; why can't people understand that?! I don't _want_ to be mature; I just want to have fun! But no, as soon as anyone gets a whiff of-"

"Fancy playing Mario-Kart?" asked Hugo, who had not been listening, but instead wondering what was for dinner.

James was about to snap at him, but then realised that he had nothing better to do.

"Yeah, alright then," he nodded, and was then struck with a brilliant idea. "But only if you let me use your phone if I win."

"And if I win, I get your helping of dessert."

James raised his eyebrows.

"Dessert over a phone? You have weird tastes, my friend."

"Yeah, well, prepare to be thrashed. I won every single race last time, remember?"

"Yeah, but only after you got Uncle George to bewitch my controller so that I kept crashing into the side!"

"Uh, James? That was _you_."

* * *

"Eurgh."

Lily flopped down on the carpet next to where Rose was playing with the Weasley's ten year old dog, Jasper.

"Just remember," she said soothingly, stroking Jasper, "This time tomorrow, we'll be on our way to Hogwarts, and James will be out of our lives for a whole four months!"

"But that's just it, Rosie – he won't be! He's coming to Hogwarts _with_ us – he's got a _job_ there!"

"WHAT?!" screeched Rose, so loudly that Jasper jumped up and ran off into the kitchen, tail between his legs.

"James is coming to Hogwarts," repeated Lily, looking as though someone had died.

"What fool would _ever_ offer James a job there?!" cried Rose, astounded. "I mean, do they _want_ Hogwarts to remain in one piece?!"

"If James does _anything_ to annoy or embarrass me this year, I _will_ kill him!" growled Lily menacingly.

"Guess we'd better get the gravestone ready, then: 'Here lies James Potter II. He annoyed us. A lot.'"


	6. The Joke

**

* * *

**

Sorry for the appallingly long wait leading up to this chapter – I was away for two weeks in Japan. On the plus side, I have written three and a half more chapters, the first of which begins below – enjoy!:)

Mrs Weasley watched her family with a smile on her face.

Despite still feeling the loss of being one child short, the joy and happiness her other children, grandchildren, and friends of her grandchildren brought to her and her husband did enough to compensate. At least, most of the time.

She was, however, slightly worried about some of her grandchildren's attitudes: Lily's skirts were getting shorter every time she visited, and James' temper was getting worse and worse.

In fact,-

_BANG!_

The whole house shook as the force of the explosion blew a hole through the ceiling.

Rose and Lily squealed as pieces of plaster rained down on them, and the multitude of swear words that were issued by all of the adults were enough to turn the air blue.

"What on earth-?!" cried Mrs Weasley, staring up at the gaping hole in the ceiling.

Looking guiltily down at her were James and Hugo, whose eyes widened in horror as they saw her looking furiously up at them.

"Oh sh-"

"JAMES POTTER AND HUGO WEASLEY, YOU GET DOWN HERE, _**RIGHT NOW**_," roared Mrs Weasley lividly.

* * *

"You NEVER touch Uncle George's products – never! After a combined total of 35 years on this planet, I would have thought the pair of you would know this!" shouted Mrs Weasley.

Everyone, aside from James and Hugo, had been banished from the kitchen, where they were currently standing.

To say that James and Hugo weren't quaking in their trainers would be a lie: Grandma Weasley was damn scary when she got mad!

"What on EARTH were you thinking, pressing a button that says 'Press Me!'?! Surely you realised that it would do something bad! This is your Uncle George, for Merlin's sake! He runs a JOKE shop!"

"Well, I'd hardly call blowing a hole in the ceiling a joke!" burst out James in annoyance.

"James Potter, do not shout at me!" yelled Mrs Weasley, angrily. "If the two of you had bothered to consider in the _slightest_ why Uncle George's merchandise was here in the first place, perhaps you would have thought twice about touching it!"

"We would?" asked Hugo, stupidly.

* * *

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Lily, Rose, Al, Jessie and George, all winced as they heard Mrs Weasley's livid tones explode through the walls.

"Well," said George briskly, over the thundering of his mother's voice, "Looks like those two won't be having any dinner tonight!"

He paused, a pained expression crossing his face.

The others all stared at him.

"Nope!" he burst out, shaking his head emphatically. "No, I just can't do it."

"Do what?" asked Al, looking confused and slightly concerned.

"Find it in myself to feel bad about the situation. More food for us, see?" he explained, a grin on his face.

"Oh for goodness' sake!" exclaimed Ginny angrily, glaring at her brother. "Is that all you can do, George?! Turn this into a big joke?!"

"Well, why not?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders. "It's not the end of the world, is it? I mean, it's not as though they blew something up, right? Oh… wait…"

"They blew a hole in the ceiling!" shouted Ginny, Hermione nodding furiously at her side.

"Oh, come on, Gin - lighten up! It can be fixed!"

"That's not the point, George!" Ginny yelled, advancing angrily towards her brother.

"Okay!" said Harry loudly, going to stand between the two feuding siblings. "That's enough. George, shut up, Ginny, cool down. Your mum's got it under control."

"Harry," said Hermione, speaking for the first. "You're not suggesting that we don't punish them, are you?"

Ron, who was stood next to her, roared with laughter.

"Hermione, they're in there with my mum – they aren't going to get away with this unpunished. Whatever she comes up with will be ten times better than anything we could have imagined, believe me!"

Hermione opened her mouth to argue, but Harry cut across her.

"He's right, Hermione. You know what Mrs Weasley is like."

Hermione appeared to think for a moment then nodded.

Ginny, however, still looked angry.

"Why on earth was that stuff here in the first place?!" she asked furiously, glaring at George round Harry. "Surely you realised something with the words 'Press Me' on would be too tempting for the boys to resist?!"

"Look, Gin, it clearly stated on the box that the products were unfinished, and-"

"Let's leave them to it," muttered Al to Jessie, Rose and Lily, signalling to them to follow him.

Unnoticed by the adults, they crept out of the front door and made their way round to the garden.

"Tree House?" suggested Lily.

They all nodded.

As they were climbing up the ladder, Jessie commented casually, "I think James had sex up here once."

"Garden table?" asked Al.

"Agreed!" Rose and Lily said quickly.

Jessie grinned.

They made their way back down and headed further down the garden.

Once they'd sat down at the table, Rose asked interestedly, "Who was James having sex with?"

"Rosie!" exclaimed Al and Lily together.

"What?! I'm just _asking_!"

"But – ew!"

Ignoring them, Jessie said, "I think it was your Aunt Fleur's sister's daughter's friend."

"You couldn't just have said 'niece's friend'?" asked Al, with a grin.

Jessie poked her tongue out at him.

Lily seemed to be struggling to process this information, however.

"You don't mean Clemence, do you?" she asked, looking astonished.

"Oh, _that's_ what her name was!" exclaimed Jessie, a look of dawning comprehension appearing on her. "I kept calling her _Clementine_! No wonder she was giving me funny looks…"

"But she's only sixteen!" cried Lily, ignoring Jessie completely.

"So are you," pointed out Al.

Lily ignored him too.

"She told me she didn't even know what _oral_ meant!"

Jessie snorted.

"I think she _definitely_ knows what the definition of oral is, if you know what I mean…"

They all looked at each other and shuddered.

* * *

Meanwhile, James and Hugo were up to their arms in shit. Literally.

"I can't _believe_ she made us do this!" yelled James angrily, as Hugo tried not retch next to him.

"This is _way_ over the – oh my god, something just moved!"

* * *

"Do you think we should stop them yet?" asked Hermione concernedly, as she, Harry, Ron and Ginny watched through the window as James, screaming like a girl, withdrew his hand from the drain and attempted to shake off a large rat which had attached itself to the hygiene gloves he was adorning.

"Let them carry on a bit longer," said Harry, trying hard not to look amused. "Besides, when they realise it's just an illusion, they're going to go nuts. Might as well enjoy the hilarity whilst it lasts."

* * *

"So, have you ever slept with anyone, Al?" asked Jessie conversationally, as Lily covered her ears.

Al stared at her curiously.

"No, of course not. Why do you ask?"

Jessie grinned.

"No reason," she shrugged. "Just curious. How about you, Rose?"

All eyes swivelled round to look at Rose, who blushed.

"I'm not saying a word."

Jessie shrugged again.

"Fair enough. What about you, Lily?"

"The only guy's bones I want to jump doesn't even know my name," she sighed.

"I hear you," nodded Jessie sympathetically. "I bet he's friends with James. Seriously, some guys just don't know how to treat a girl. Take Jordan Cartwright, for example. Biggest knob I've ever had the misfortune to meet, and-"

"Hang on a minute," interrupted Al. "You haven't said whether you've slept with anyone yet!"

He was unsure what had made him ask – it wasn't as though he cared, really. Jessie was his friend, and she could do whatever she wanted, with _whom_ever she wanted. It was just… well, he'd just like to know, that was all. Best friends told each other these kinds of things, right?

It wasn't until Jessie laughed and said, "No!" that Al realised he'd been holding his breath.

Exhaling as quietly as possible, he was embarrassed at how much the possibility of her answer being 'yes' had affected him.

"Really?" said Lily in surprise. "Weren't you going steady with Justin Gates for, like, three years, or something?"

"Yeah, but I realised he wasn't 'the one', and when the time finally does come to 'do it', I want it to be with someone special. Like you, Al."

Al choked as his spit went down the wrong hole.

"What?!" he gasped, as his heart hammered into his ribcage.

"I want to sleep with you, Al," said Jessie seriously, focusing all her attention on him.

"B-but, I-"stammered Al, severely shocked at this turn of events.

Shocked, that was, until Jessie grinned and burst out laughing.

"Oh, God, your face, Al!" she gasped, practically in hysterics. "Oh, that was priceless!"

Al blushed a deep red as he realised he'd got the wrong end of the stick.

"I was talking about you and Leanne, Al, not you and me," sniggered Jessie, getting up and going over to give him a hug. "About how you want to wait until the time is right!"

Al hugged her back stiffly, still not believing how much of a fool he'd been.

He was completely mortified!

Thankfully, as Jessie pulled away, he heard the sound of car tyres on gravel, and hurriedly said, "Looks like Uncle Percy and co. are here," before racing off towards the house, avoiding looking at anyone, especially Jessie.

As he reached the back door, he heard the unmistakeable sounds of three teenage girls going into hysterics.

He hung his head in shame.

* * *

James and Hugo walked through the door, arms dripping after they'd hosed off the offending sewage, just as Uncle Percy exclaimed, "Good Lord, mother! What on earth's happened to the ceiling?!"

James and Hugo hurried back out to the drains.


	7. The Train

**Thank you for all your wonderful reviews, I'm sorry I haven't had time to reply to them, but they are greatly appreciated!****  
****In the next couple of weeks, I will start my A Level exams, so I'm afraid I won't be posting much, if anything, for a while. When they're done, I'll post more!****  
****Thanks for all your support!!**

* * *

"No-don't-"

_Crash!_

"JAMES!"

Two floors down, Jessie sniffed and said, "So _I_ reckon James just tried to levitate his trunk down the stairs and failed…"

* * *

"James, Al, Jessie, HURRY UP! We're going to be late!" bellowed Harry, poised with one hand holding open the lid of the boot, the other gripping a box of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes fireworks, which contents had fallen out all over the ground.

Al and Jessie came hurrying out, each dragging a trunk and clutching an owl cage.

"James is just coming," Jessie informed Harry, slightly breathlessly.

"Yeah, once Grandma Weasley's stopped yelling at him for making another hole in the floor," added Al, shoving Niffler's cage under his arm as he pulled his trunk to a standing position.

"He's done WHAT?!" roared Harry, throwing the empty fireworks box away furiously and storming off towards the house.

"What's happened now?" asked Ginny, sticking her head out of the car window and looking at Al and Jessie.

"James tried to levitate his trunk down the stairs but failed and instead managed to succeed in making a rather large hole in the floor," clarified Al.

"Oh for goodness' sake, not again!" hissed Ginny, pushing open the car and getting out.

"See, mum," said Hugo to Hermione as Ginny ran to the house, "Aren't you lucky you've got me as a son – I've only made a hole in the floor _once_!"

* * *

"It's not _my_ fault I'm not very good at levitating things _down_wards," sulked James as they sat in a queue on the M25.

"Yeah, and it wasn't _my_ fault that I became the only person who could defeat Voldemort but _I_ still took full responsibility for it," snapped Harry, glaring at the rows of traffic in front of him.

James narrowed his eyes.

"Gutted," sniggered Lily.

* * *

"Right, we'll see you all at Christmas," said Ginny, giving Jessie a hug as Al climbed aboard the Hogwarts Express.

"Unless you get a better offer," added Ron, shaking James' hand and clapping him on the back.

"But please let us know if you have," said Hermione, passing Al Niffler.

"Otherwise Grandma Weasley will overestimate how many turkeys she'll need to buy," smiled Harry.

"Like she doesn't anyway," snorted Hugo, grudgingly letting his mother kiss him on the cheek as the whistle blew.

"Right," said Harry, suddenly businesslike, "James, no fraternising with the students."

"Of course not, dad…"

Jessie snorted derisively.

"Lily, no more condoms."

"God, dad, you're such a loser," she said disgustedly, rolling her eyes in true Aunt Hermione-fashion as they all stood back so they could close the train door.

Harry ignored her.

"Al-"

"Have a nice time, and work hard," interrupted Ginny, dragging her husband out of the way so Ron and Hermione could address their children.

"Hugo, mate," said Ron, "Don't be a prat this year – throwing stones at the green houses to see if they have anti-breaking charms on them is not a good idea. Especially when they don't."

"And Rose, sweetheart, be careful with Liam," said Hermione, a look of understanding passing between mother and daughter.

"Sure, mum. See all of you guys soon," added Rose as the train began to move.

"Yeah, bye!" chorused Lily, Al, Hugo and Jessie, with a wave to their parents (and, in Jessie's case, her friends' parents). James had already been distracted by a blonde 7th Year, whom he'd followed into the next carriage, completely oblivious to the fact that her very angry-looking boyfriend was following right behind him.

Once their parents had disappeared from sight, Al, Jessie, Hugo, Rose and Lily all let out a sigh of relief.

"God, I thought they'd never leave," said Lily, rolling her eyes again. "Right, well, I'm off to find Terri and Jasmine. Catch you guys later!"

With a wave, she headed off into the carriage James had just gone into

"I'm gonna go check out the new chick Razor told me's starting," grinned Hugo, spying his mate Finch chatting up some blonde girl he'd never seen before.

The rest of them watched him go with sceptical looks on their faces; if Hugo had friends with names like 'Razor', they highly doubted he'd have any luck with the ladies.

Shaking her head and turning her attention back to the rapidly diminishing group, Rose said, "I'm going to find Liam. See you at the feast."

She too waved and left, leaving Jessie and Al on their own.

"Guess I ought to go and find Leanne – I couldn't see her on the platform," said Al, with a slight shrug.

Jessie nodded.

"Cool beans. Mind if I tag along?"

"No, Jessie – go and find your own girlfriend to hang out with," teased Al.

Jessie whacked him over the head with her bag.

"Ow!"

* * *

"…So yeah," James was saying, his arms behind his head and his legs resting on the opposite seat, "I'll be, like, your Professor. But not like McGonagall – she's such a stiff."

"Oh, god, I know," giggled the girl. "Like, take last year, for example – she totally blew a gasket, all because she caught me smoking in the toilets! I mean, how dumb is that? I'm seventeen, I'm totally old enough!"

James didn't like to tell her that you now had to be eighteen to smoke in Britain.

"But she was all like, blah! It's a fire hazard, blah!"

"Hey, Riah!" said an angry voice at the door, "Who the hell's this guy?!"

Riah and James whipped round to find a stockily built guy with a very maddened expression on his face.

Riah instantly leapt up and put her arms around him.

"Oh, Rex," she simpered, looking up adoringly at him, "Baby, we're just talking! James-it is James, right?"

James nodded, already planning his escape route.

"James was just telling me about how he's going to be a teacher at Hogwarts! Isn't that-"

"I know you, James Potter, and I know what you want," interrupted Rex with a growl. "But let me make one thing very clear. If you ever come near my girlfriend again, I will _personally _curse your-HEY!"

* * *

"Lily!" squealed Terri and Jasmine joyfully, jumping up from their seats and giving their best friend a hug.

"Hey guys!" laughed Lily, hugging them back. "What's up?"

"Oh, we've got _so_ much to tell you!" grinned Jasmine, retaking her seat.

"Like what?" asked Lily, sitting down on the bench next to Terri.

"Like how Violet Brown's gone and got herself pregnant…"

"NO WAY!"

* * *

"Just keep running, just keep-"

"Potter, get back here!"

"Shiiiiitttt!!"

* * *

Rose had made her way to the end of the train before she finally saw Liam. And when she did, she felt her heart break.


	8. Prelude not a follow on chapter

Déjà vu

Prelude to The Potter and Weasley Kids Do Hogwarts

(I've added this to help with setting in coming chapters – sorry it's been so long!! And thank you for wanting more!!)

**Déjà vu**

Infuriated that best friend Scorpius Malfoy has asked a girl to the End of Owls Ball because they're 'fit', Rose Weasley decides to make him jealous by telling him she, too, has a date. The problem? She lied. Whilst trying to come up with a solution to this, her mum Hermione tells her of a rather interesting and scarily similar experience she had when she was in her fourth year at Hogwarts…

**Instant Messaging Key:**

**Lol Laugh out loud**

**Lmao Laughing my ase off**

**Soz Sorry**

**Comp Computer**

**W8 Wait**

**SM06** I think I'm gonna ask Sarah Brown, cus she got fit over da summer

Rose Weasley stared at the computer screen in front of her incredulously.

Scorpius Malfoy, one of her best friends, was going to ask Sarah Brown to the End of Owls Ball, despite the fact that he had a girl only too willing to accompany him; it hadn't even crossed his mind to ask Rose!

And, even worse, the only reason he wanted to ask Sarah was not because he knew her well or admired her intelligence; no, it was because she was '_fit_'.

Annoyed, Rose sat up straighter in her chair and began to type a response.

**magicrules06** Oh, right. U guys in da same classes, then??

She pressed the Enter key and sat back to wait for an answer, knowing full well that it would be 'No'.

**SMO6** Nah. But she's in Slytherin, so I've spoken 2 her a couple of times

Reading this, Rose simultaneously felt her blood boil and run cold.

So that was it.

Despite all his assurances that he was nothing like his father, and that blood-status and house-ties meant nothing to him, Scorpius Malfoy would still rather take a Slytherin to the Ball than a lowly, half-blood Gryffindor.

"I c," she typed back coldly, stabbing at the keys. "Well, gd luck wiv that."

She pressed Enter again and watched the bottom of the conversation box carefully.

As she had hoped, Scorpius, who normally responded to messages quickly, due to the fact that he would be using a pay-by-the-hour computer because his father flat-out refused to own anything 'so very Muggle', did not start typing a response immediately.

After almost a minute (a long time in the world of Instant Messaging), a message flashed up at the bottom of screen, telling Rose that Scorpius was typing a reply.

**SM06** R u alright?

Rose began to write back a sarcastic response but something made her stop.

She was mad at Scorpius, it was true, and wanted to show him so, but perhaps revenge, not contempt, was the best form of medicine?

Yes, she thought, a smile forming on her face, let's make payback a Brilliant Indication To Crushed Hope.

Erasing the answer she'd started with, Rose replaced it with:

**magicrules06** Yeh, I'm fine, lol. Just hoping u 2 won't upstage me and _my_ partner, lmao!

Smirking, Rose watched the bottom of the screen again, imagining Scorpius' expression as he read her reply.

He replied surprisingly quickly:

**SM06** Uv got a d8?? Who wiv?? How come u didn't tell me?!

"Gotcha," muttered Rose, her smirk replaced by a grin.

"O, soz, I gotta go – Hugo wants the comp," she improvised, knowing this would infuriate Scorpius.

He responded immediately.

**SM06** W8!!

**magicrules06** Spk 2 u soon!!

**SM06** U haven't told me who ur goin wiv!

**magicrules06** Byexxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**SM06** Rose, w8!!

**magicrules06** has signed out

Stretching in her computer chair, Rose's feeling of satisfaction suddenly seeped away.

Sitting bolt upright, she realised she had one major flaw to her brilliant get-back plan: she didn't _have_ a mystery date.

Sighing, she stood up and walked across to her bedroom door.

Opening it, she padded down the hall, rolling her eyes as she heard the banging and yells of "Yeah, take that, Potter!" and "Screw you, Weasley!", coming from her brother Hugo's room, and made her way downstairs and into the kitchen, where she set about making herself a hot chocolate.

Just as she'd popped her drink into the microwave, the back-door opened and her mum, Hermione, walked in, clutching a basket full of freshly-dried clothes.

"Mum, I've got a problem," said Rose, without preamble.

"What kind of problem?" asked Hermione, setting the basket down on the work-top and pinching a couple of marshmallows Rose had found to put on her hot chocolate.

"Boy problems," said Rose, imitating her mum.

"Ah," said Hermione, pulling out the ironing board and setting it up, "The best sort."

"I'm going to assume you're being sarcastic," grumbled Rose, walking over to the microwave as the buzzer went off.

"So what kind of boy-trouble do you have, Rose Weasley?" enquired Hermione, as she ironed a pair of Hugo's school robes.

"The kind where your best friend doesn't ask you to the Ball because someone else is more 'fit'."

To Rose's great surprise, her mum let out an incredulous laugh.

"What?" she asked, feeling slightly wounded.

Noticing her daughter's stony expression, Hermione clarified hastily, "Sorry, Rose, I wasn't laughing at you. It's just that I never thought I'd hear of someone with as little tact as your father!"

"What do you mean?" frowned Rose, squirting whipped cream artfully on top of her now steaming drink.

Hermione smiled.

"I never told you, did I, about the Yule Ball your father, Harry, Ginny and I attended when we, aside from Ginny, were in our fourth year at Hogwarts?"

Rose shook her head and took a sip of her hot chocolate, intrigued.

Her family, especially her parents and Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny, rarely shared gems from their school days – more from never having been asked, rather than not wanting to.

Rose knew her parents and aunt and uncle had been famous during their school days, and although her brother and cousin James did not hold any particular interest in how and why this was, Rose and James' younger brother and sister, Albus and Lily, were fascinated by it all.

The three of them wanted to know everything they could about their parents' lives as teenagers– after all, the History books only documented what had been witnessed, not the things that had happened away from the rest of the world.

"No, you haven't," said Rose, sitting down at the kitchen table. "What happened?"

"Well," said Hermione, folding up Hugo's robes and placing them in another basket labelled 'Hugh', "As you probably remember, our fourth year bought with it the ill-fated Triwizard Tournament. Part of the tradition of it was to hold a ball. Your dad and Harry, being the idiots that they are, weren't exactly inundated with offers-"

Hermione paused.

"Actually, no, that's a lie – Harry was, being a champion and all. Your dad on the other hand…"

Rose watched as a smirk appeared on her mum's face.

"Let's just say that he didn't leave all that much to be desired. Not until our sixth year, anyway."

Hermione's expression darkened as she remembered back to the days of Won-Won and Lavender.

Rose, realising her mum was becoming side-tracked, said pointedly, "So, who did Dad ask? You?"

Hermione snorted.

"Don't be silly. He didn't notice me until all the 'good-looking ones' were taken and Neville had ask me to go with him-"

Rose squealed.

"_Leanne's_ dad asked you to go with him?"

"That's right," nodded Hermione.

"_Professor Longbottom _wanted to be _your_ partner?" giggled Rose.

"Rose!" admonished Hermione, fighting to sound stern. "You know Neville, he's a family friend, don't be rude!"

"Whatever, mum, it's still weird," said Rose, shaking her head. "So you went with Neville instead of dad?"

Hermione smiled again.

"Well, no. Unfortunately, I'd already been asked by someone else."

"Really?" said Rose with interest, taking another sip of her drink as she tried to fight off the mental image of her mum and Neville slow-dancing. "Who by?"

"Viktor Krum."

The mental-image vanished as Rose's brain was flooded by this astonishing information.

"No way!" she squealed, staring at her mum disbelievingly. "_No way_ did _Viktor Krum_ ask you the Yule Ball!"

"Well, that's really how Viktor and I got to know each other," smiled Hermione, marvelling at how much excitement this simple revelation had elicited. "Suffice it to say, your father wasn't very happy when he found out."

"I'll bet," grinned Rose, now imagining how red her father would have gone when he saw her mum gripping the arm of the world-renowned seeker. "What did he do?"

"Called me a traitor and refused to speak to me for the rest of the evening, aside from having a huge argument in the common room," laughed Hermione, shaking her head. "I told him if he had such a problem with it, then next time there was a ball, he should ask me before someone else did."

"And what did he say to that?"

"Well, I'd stormed off by that point, but according to Harry, he just stood there spluttering about how I'd 'missed the point'."

"But it was because he liked you, right?" said Rose, wondering if Scorpius would ever like her enough to get that mad.

"Of course," nodded Hermione. "Not that he would ever have admitted it. You know, I've always wondered what spurred him into realising he had feelings for me…"

"Well, you weren't exactly forthcoming either, if what Ginny's told me is true," said Rose snidely.

Hermione threw a sock at her.

Throwing it back, Rose confessed, "I told Scorpius I had a date."

"And do you?" asked Hermione.

"No," Rose admitted.

"Well, why did you tell him that you do, then?"

Rose shrugged.

"To make him jealous, I suppose."

Hermione raised her eyebrows.

"I thought you two were just friends?"

"We are!" said Rose hurriedly. "I just thought he'd want to go with me, because we're best friends, that's all."

Hermione nodded sympathetically, pretending to accept this version of Rose's reasoning.

"Ah, right. Well, why don't you ask Al to go with you?"

"Mum!" cried Rose, appalled. "I can't take my _cousin_ as a date! That's gross! And really sad! Plus, that won't make Scorpius jealous – he'd probably just laugh!"

"Ok, ok!" conceded Hermione. "That was a bad suggestion. What about Dean's son, Matt?"

Rose pulled a face.

"He's not cool enough. I need someone who would make Scorpius feel inferior."

Feeling slightly odd about encouraging her daughter to make a friend feel second-rate, Hermione said, "Well, what about Kingsley's nephew, Nathan? Isn't he part of the 'popular crowd'?"

Rose pondered this.

"I guess I could go with him. But what if he's already got a date?"

"Well, according to Kingsley, the girl he's got his eye on has gone on holiday and won't be back for the ball. Why don't I invite them round and you can ask him then?"

"Ok, then," nodded Rose, feeling slightly better about her situation. "Me and Nathan get on alright, and I_ did _do him that favour the other week…"

"What favour was that?" asked Hermione curiously.

"Oh, nothing!" said Rose quickly, realising who she was talking to. "I just helped him with his, um, Transfiguration homework, that's all."

"Alright, then," said Hermione sceptically, watching as her daughter hurriedly washed up her mug and put it in on the draining board.

Rose smiled as she turned back to face her mum.

"Thanks for your help mum. You won't tell dad about me and Scorpius, will you?"

"What, and cause him to have a heart attack? No, I think we'll keep that information to ourselves."

"Thanks," said Rose gratefully. "I think I'm gonna go and see if Al and Lily are in; they'll want to know all about you and Viktor Krum!"

With a wave, Rose left the kitchen, leaving Hermione to ponder how very much Ron had tempted fate when he'd told Rose not to get too friendly with Scorpius, and how much the pair's relationship seemed to be mirroring her own.

After all, it was pretty obvious Rose and Scorpius were just as much in denial about their feelings for each other as she and Ron had been.

It was refreshing to know that she wasn't the only one who had fallen in love with her best friend without realising so…


	9. The Book

"Hey, Rosie

**The present day**

"Hey, Rosie!" said Liam loudly, pushing the girl he'd been kissing off of his lap as Rose pulled open the carriage door. "How's it going?"

Rose glared at him.

"Carla Greengrass?" she spat acidly, shooting the now smirking girl a look of venom. "You're cheating on me with _Carla Greengrass_?!"

"Look, Rosie," said Liam, looking nervous, "Why don't we talk about this outside, huh?"

"Oh, what, and spare you the agony of making me look like a fool in front of a crowd?" said Rose sarcastically. "Yeah, no thanks. No, what I _want_, Liam is to know what the hell it is you think you're playing at! I mean, Carla, really? You couldn't have picked someone with a bit more class?"

In the corner, Carla merely raised her eyebrows.

Liam, however, looked offended.

"Don't talk about Carla like that, Rose," he frowned, moving instinctively towards his knew flame.

Rose rolled her eyes.

"God, spare me. I think I get the message."

She turned to leave the carriage but then stopped.

Turning back slowly to face Liam et al, Rose said, pretending to feign interest, "Actually, before I go, I would like to ask you one question."

Liam shrugged, looking slightly relieved that that was all Rose wanted to do.

"Sure, go ahead."

Rose's mouth twisted into an expression of dislike.

"Why _did_ you cheat on me? Because if it's why I think it is, then you are a complete arsehole."

Liam turned red.

"Erm," he stammered, twisting his hands together awkwardly, "Well, what, er, what do you think it is?"

Rose made an obscene hand gesture.

Liam gulped, and then nodded slowly.

Shake her head in disgust, Rose turned on her heel and stormed out of the carriage, slamming the door as hard as she could behind her.

As the sound of broken glass filled her ears, Rose swallowed hard and gritted her teeth, willing the tears that were welling up in her eyes not to spill over.

"There you are!" a voice cried from behind Al and Jessie.

They turned around to find Leanne Longbottom running up the corridor towards them.

"Leanne!" grinned Al, going towards her and pulling her into a hug.

They began to kiss but were interrupted by Jessie gasping loudly, "Al, what's this! Another woman?! I don't believe it!"

Pulling apart, Al and Leanne looked round at Jessie, whose mouth was wavering.

Stepping away from Leanne, Al said solemnly, "Jessie, I'm so sorry. But I have to follow my heart. You understand?"

Jessie regarded him for a moment, and then nodded sombrely.

"I understand," she said softly, looking up at the ceiling and blinking back the tears that had formed in her eyes.

Leanne, who had been watching this exchange with raised eyebrows, said sardonically, "Hogwarts really needs to start a drama club – you guys would fit right in."

Dropping the act, Jessie grinned, and went to hug Leanne.

"It's nice to see you, Leanne."

"Likewise," smiled Leanne, hugging Jessie back. "You know, if I didn't know better, I'd be worried about you two."

Jessie pulled away and winked at Al.

He returned the wink with a grin and said to Leanne, "You do know Jessie is the love of my life, right?"

Leanne whacked him playfully on the arm and then took hold of his hand as they made their way back down the corridor.

As Jessie grabbed hold of his other hand, Al marvelled that he was probably one of the luckiest guys in the world.

Little did he know how soon that would all change…

"Lily!" gasped James, wrenching open the compartment doors. "Hide me, quickly!"

Lily, Terri and Jasmine stared at him.

"Lil!" cried James, looking panicked. "Didn't you hear what I just said?! My life is in mortal danger!"

"Does it have anything to do with a girl?" asked Lily calmly, raising her eyebrows.

"And a big angry bloke, with huge fists!" yelped James, looking wildly over his shoulder for any sign of his pursuer.

"Then I don't want to know," said Lily simply, flicking her wand at the doors. "Goodbye, James."

As the doors slammed shut, James decided that now might just be the right time to start praying…

As James continued running for his life, Rose was trying to escape hers.

Having unsuccessfully found any vacant toilets or empty carriages, she realised her options were rather limited.

She could either choose to go and sit in a carriage with one of her family members (her choice there wasn't exactly restricted, what with her father's side of the family being big enough to fill the O2 Arena) and face the endless questions of who, what and why from them; go find her friends, who would no doubt be on Liam's side and encourage her to do whatever she could to get him back (sexual acts not withstanding); or go and sit in the carriage with only one other person in it and who would most definitely not speak to her.

Sighing, Rose decided she wanted the peace and quiet more than she cared about the awkwardness her actions would likely incur.

Turning around, she walked back down the hall and found the desired carriage.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled open the door and, avoiding looking at the blonde boy who'd looked up from his book as she'd entered, Rose closed the door behind her and took a seat next to the window.

Tension filled the carriage so rapidly Rose thought she might suffocate if one of them didn't say something soon.

Of course, over her dead body would she be the first to speak.

The seconds turned into minutes and the minutes turned into hours before the boy opposite her finally spoke.

"Am I right in assuming you've found out about Liam's nocturnal activities?"

Rose looked up at Scorpius Malfoy with malice in her eyes.

"You knew?" she asked furiously, sitting up straight and turning her body round to face him, palms outstretched in a visual sign of disbelief.

Scorpius shrugged.

"All the Slytherins knew. Carla's not exactly known for keeping her mouth shut… or her legs, for that matter."

Rose let out a noise like a wounded animal.

"That stupid little bitch!" she spat angrily. "I should've known something was up when I saw her that day in Diagon Alley and she smiled at me."

Scorpius raised his eyebrows at hearing this.

"Yes, smiling is always a sign of wrong-doing," he said coolly, making to open his book and continue reading.

Rose glared at him.

"God, I'd forgotten how insufferable you can be," she said, her voice dripping with disdain as she surveyed his irritated expression.

As his eyes snapped back to look at her again, she found her heart inexplicably skip a beat. As she stared into those dark pools, she found herself deluged with memories of the past; a time when things had been simpler and vastly happier. Or, to be more precise, when all she'd had to worry about were exams, rather than matters of the heart.

Before she could become completely submerged in long-ago squabbles and sincere regret, Scorpius' voice cut through her like a knife.

"And _I'd_ forgotten how self-absorbed you are," he snapped back, looking annoyed.

Before Rose could say anything in response, however, he'd grabbed his backpack, wrenched open the carriage door, and stormed out.

Rose felt slightly shell-shocked at what had just occurred but put her rapidly beating heart down to his abruptness, rather than to the fact that the first conversation she and Scorpius had had in over a year had resulted in further proof that the two of them were no longer the best of friends.

As she closed the door again and huddled up in the corner of the carriage, Rose supposed that she did now at least have a compartment to herself.

Not, she decided, that this was much of a comfort.

"Oh, home sweet home."

The Hogwarts Express had finally reached its destination, and James was back to his old self again.

As he'd vacated the train, he'd been greeted by the gratifying sight of Rex Goyle being busted by Hagrid for hexing a group of First Years and sentenced to a month's worth of detentions, starting with him missing the Beginning of Term Feast. As James had walked past him, Goyle had spat furiously, "When we're alone, Potter, I'll-"

"I think you'll find that's _Professor _Potter, now, Mr Goyle," he replied sweetly, careful to wink at Riah in full-sight of her boyfriend. Goyle trying to punch him and subsequently getting another two months' worth of detention, courtesy of James, was the icing on the cake.

James was now sitting in a carriage with his sister and her two, rather hot friends, neither of whom was looking particularly happy with this turn of events.

"It's good to be back," he added, stretching out across the two seats and placing an arm around Terri.

"God, and how we wish you weren't," she grimaced, pushing James off of her and squashing between Jasmine and Lily, so as not to have to face any more of his sexual harassment.

"Agreed!" coughed Jasmine loudly.

James smirked.

"And how was _your_ summer, Jasmine? Enjoy seeing me coming out of the shower the other week?"

"Oh, God," she moaned, looking at Lily before placing her head in her hands. "I can't _believe_ you let him come back!"

Lily sobbed silently into her sleeve.

Hugo stemmed his heavily bleeding nose with a wad of tissues his mate Razor had passed to him and cursed under his breath.

"I told you you shouldn't have offered to show her your 'little friend'," sniggered Finch, shaking his head and leading the way to the carriages.

"Yeah, well at least _I'm_ not _named_ after a bird," snapped back Hugo angrily, grabbing another couple of tissues from the box Razor was holding out for him.

He groaned as Finch punched him in the stomach.

Rose made sure she was the last to leave the train – she didn't much fancy bumping into Liam and Carla, especially in a crowd where Carla could quite easily make at least a dozen snide comments and get away with it.

When the last prefect had stridden away from the train, she got up to leave, and, as she did so, she noticed that Scorpius had left the book he'd reading behind, albeit by accident, she was sure. It had slipped almost completely all the way down the back of the seat, which was why Rose hadn't spotted it earlier. She dug it out and was surprised to find it was a muggle book – Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare. She frowned. This book, along with Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, was Rose's all-time favourite read, something that had caused Scorpius to scoff quite profusely when he had found out. So why on earth was he reading it now? Positively mystified, Rose unzipped her backpack, and slipped the book inside, planning to give Scorpius it back when she next saw him.

Well, that won't be awkward at all, she thought sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she zipped the bag back up and hurried out of the train, stepping out onto the platform just as the whistle blew to signal the train's departure.

Not wanting to miss the last carriage, she walked as quickly as she could to the lane where they would, hopefully, still be waiting.

She was relieved to see that there was one left, and swiftly went to open the door.

Her relief turned to horror when she saw who was sat inside.

"Well, isn't this cosy!" grinned Carla, as she saw Rose's face drain of colour. "Scorpius, cuz, do scoot over so Rose here can sit down."

Feeling more awkward than she ever thought she could, Rose climbed reluctantly into the carriage and sat down next to Scorpius as Liam closed the door.

"Oh, what fun this trip up to Hoggers is going to be!" continued Carla, her grin stretching to alarming proportions as her eyes glittered with unabashed wickedness.

Rose knew quite certainly that the journey was going to be anything but.

Al, Jessie and Jasmine bundled into a carriage, along with Stevie Tyler, a fellow Gryffindor, and Annette Clearwater-Goldstein, Jessie's cousin, and immediately continued the conversation they'd been having on the train.

"I can't believe Michael Corner Jr. hooked up with Andy Marshall!" grinned Jessie, collapsing down next to Al, her face shining with excitement. "That's just so…" She struggled to find the right words.

"Cute?" supplied Al, eyebrows raised.

"Yes!" cried Jessie, a testament echoed by Leanne and Annette, both of whom looked delighted.

"I've always thought they'd make a cute couple," added Leanne, looking wistful.

"Michael only came out at the end of term," pointed out Stevie, rolling his eyes at Al, who just shook his head.

"Yeah, but it was _dead_ obvious he was gay," said Annette, matter-of-factly. "We all saw how much he stared when James streaked through Hogwarts that time."

"Oh, God, don't remind me," said Al, looking ill. "Let's hope he doesn't pull a stunt like that this year."

"What do you mean?" asked Leanne and Annette simultaneously, both looking suddenly worried.

"Oh, didn't we mention?" grinned Stevie, looking positively ecstatic. "James Potter's coming back to Hogwarts – to teach!"

The cries of "NOOOO!!" echoed all the way across the Hogwarts grounds, causing a number of startled owls to fly out from their trees and a 1st Year to fall out of the boat she was travelling across the lake in, resulting in a large string of swearwords issuing from Hagrid's mouth as he threw out a piece of rope for the panicking eleven year old to grab a hold of.

James Potter's trail of destruction had already spread to Hogwarts and he hadn't even stepped foot in the castle yet.

The school and all of its inhabitants were most definitely doomed.


	10. The Girl

As soon as the carriage had shuddered to a halt, James dived past Lily, Jasmine and Terri, flung open the carriage door, jumped out triumphantly, and landed neatly on the ground, only to be welcomed by the sound of applause from-"

"Dad?!" gasped James, stumbling backwards in surprise at this disconcerting discovery. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

Harry James Potter smiled down at his horror-struck son, and said, with a maddening air of calmness, "Oh, you'll see, Professor Potter. Now, why don't you make your way inside and find your place at the Staff table?"

James stared at his father, mouth hanging open, unable to process what he was seeing.

Before he could formulate a question, however, he'd been shoved aside by Lily, who was gawking at her father with a similar look of horror.

"Dad?!" she squeaked, adding as her brother had done, "What the hell are you doing here?!"

Harry looked slightly despairing.

"Have my children honestly not learned any larger a vocabulary?" he asked to no one in particular.

Lily ignored this slight on her grasp of the English language, and hissed, "Dad, please tell me you're just here to welcome the first years to the world of Defence Against the Dark Arts!"

The way her father's mouth curled in the corners at this statement and his eyes shone with what could only be described as mischief did nothing to abate Lily's growing sense of unease.

With one last apprehensive look, Lily signalled for Jasmine and Terri to leave her dad and James to it. Jasmine and Terri nodded awkwardly at Harry as they passed; he was Lily's dad after all.

James, seeing this as his chance to escape, too, motioned to follow the three girls. His progress was hindered somewhat by the sudden arrival of a screaming girl, who threw her arms around James' waist and began hugging him like there was no tomorrow.

Suitably startled, James stared down in astonishment at his attacker and felt his heart sink as he recognised the brutal fringe and bottle blonde hair.

"Sienna?" he said weakly, grimacing at his father who made an 'Oh' shape with his mouth as he realised who it was.

Spying a group of squabbling third years, he made a swift exit as his son struggled to rid himself of the extra body that had attached itself to areas where he'd rather not be attached.

"Oh, James!" cried Sienna, her voice muffled due to the fact that she had her face pressed into his stomach. "You're back!"

"Er, yeah," said James uncomfortably, trying to ignore the laughter coming from his students as they saw the predicament he was in.

"I'm so glad!" she sobbed. "I never thought I'd see you again!"

Yeah, me neither, thought James, starting to get annoyed. Sienna Butler had been absolutely obsessed with him ever since he'd courteously held open a door for her in her first year. Four years on, and she still hadn't forgotten it. She regarded James as some kind of God, and although under normal circumstances this would have pleased James immensely, he had to admit that this much adoration was scary, not least because Sienna had changed her whole way of life to fit around James'. This included dying and cutting her hair in the exact style as one of James' previous girlfriends, Felicity; memorising his timetable and choosing her subjects accordingly, so that she'd have maximum chance of bumping into him in the corridors during lesson change-over; cheering on Gryffindor at every Quidditch match, despite the fact that she was a Ravenclaw; reading up on everything she could find out about his father so that she'd have something to talk about with him every time she saw him; and, perhaps most unsettlingly of all, she'd started to threaten any girls who had taken any interest in him.

James' parents had suggested he take out some kind of restraining order on Sienna, but James had waved off their concern. By the time Sienna's obsession had reached alarming proportions, James was just about to leave Hogwarts. He'd figured that he wouldn't have to worry about her once he'd graduated and that Sienna would finally get over him and find someone else to fixate on. Of course, he hadn't taken into account the fact that he'd be returning to Hogwarts and Sienna would still only be in her fifth year.

On the plus side, he thought, she won't be able to fling herself at me this year; I'll be a Professor, so it'd be illegal.

Although he wouldn't say 'no' if another, non-freak student decided to try it on. That would just be discrimination, right?

As his robes were starting to become uncomfortably wet, James took a deep breath and said to Sienna, as calmly and as nicely as he could, "Miss Butler, I, er, hate to be rude, or whatever, but you're kind of getting my robes all soggy. Do you reckon you could let go of me now?"

Sienna looked up at him, startled, her eyes ringed with red from all the crying she'd been doing.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, James!" she cried, getting to her feet, and looking highly embarrassed. "Oh God, this is so totally mortifying!"

And, without another word, she burst into tears again and rushed up the steps into the Entrance Hall, leaving James to stare after her in total bewilderment.

She gets weirder every year, he thought, shaking his head.

He did not think on this too much, though, as at that point he spied Olive Yang, looking sexy and confident in a pair of 4-inch heels.

Smirking, James strode over to her and said, as authoritatively as he could, "Now, Miss Yang, are those shoes really appropriate for school? I think I might just have to give you a detention with me this evening, now that I'm your Professor."

Olive and her friends gaped at James and then burst into fits of giggles.

Getting control of herself, Olive flipped her long hair behind her and said, smiling flirtily, "If you insist, Professor Potter. Should I wear the shoes then, too?"

Before James had time to answer, a hand was planted firmly on his shoulder; he jumped and turned round to find his father looking irritated.

"I think Professor Potter would prefer it if I were to take your detention, Miss Yang. Run along now."

As Olive went into the Castle, looking dejected, Harry said quietly to James, "Nice try. Do it again and you'll be right back to filing."

James grimaced.

He had a sneaking suspicion that this year was not going to be quite as fun as he had originally thought.

*

Hugo clambered out of his carriage, sniffing as his nose began to bleed again.

"Oh, for Merlin's sake," he spat, coughing as he snorted the blood into the back of his throat. "Razor, tissues!"

Finch, who was climbing out of the carriage as Hugo said this, snorted.

"You really are such a div sometimes, Weasley. You know there is a better way to deal with this, don't you?"

Hugo was not listening, however, due to being busy stuffing copious amounts of tissue up his nose.

Finch rolled his eyes and turned to face the castle, only to be greeted by the unpleasant sight of Holland Barratt and his minions walking toward him.

"Arsehole alert, arsehole alert!" he muttered out of the corner of his mouth, his eyes locked on the steadily advancing Slytherins.

Hugo and Razor looked round, the former with tissue sticking out of his nostrils, and felt themselves tense.

Just as his parents and uncle had had to face the almost daily assaults from Draco Malfoy, Hugo and his friends had, for some reason, incurred the wrath of Holland Barrat, a fifth year, like them.

Hugo supposed it might be something to do with having one of the most famous families at Hogwarts. Barrat, on the other hand, had a muggle mother and a father who had up and left them when he'd found out his son wasn't going to be the football player he'd always wanted; he was to be a wizard instead.

Hugo, Finch and Razor would've felt sorry for Barrat if he hadn't turned out to be such an utter wanker.

As Lily had once spat at him, "If you were my son, I would've up and left you, too."

A touch harsh, perhaps, but no less true.

The three of them braced themselves for the pending massacre.

"Well, isn't this cosy," sneered Barrat, as they drew level with them. "Nice tissues, Weasley."

Hugo turned beetroot red and hastily tugged the bloodied tissue from his nostrils.

"What do you want, Barrat?" sighed Finch, looking bored.

"Me and my pals here," he indicated Blentham and Archer, two of his most prized jock friends, "Wanted to welcome you back to Hogwarts personally! After all, we, more liked people, want to make sure that you losers don't feel too badly. We're nice like that."

Razor snorted.

Barrat looked at him.

"Got a problem, fatty?" he asked, eyebrows raised.

Blentham and Archer sniggered behind him.

"Yes, highly original," replied Finch sarcastically, "I'm only sorry that my IQ is not up to the same intellectual capacity as yours is…"

He yelled as Barrat slammed him up against the carriage.

"Speak to me like that again, you Gryffindor git, and I will curse your tongue out of your mouth," he hissed, making sure to spit in Finch's face.

Hugo and Razor motioned to help their friend but Blentham and Archer had already moved to block their path.

"Move," said Hugo, sounding braver than he felt.

"Oh, or what, Weasley?" said Barrat, looking incredulous, still holding a struggling Barrat against the carriage. "You three tossers gonna take us on?"

*

"You know, I never did understand why the two of you never got together… aside from the fact that your father would've had a fit if you'd slept with a Weasley!"

Rose, who had been quite content to grit her teeth at this defamatory comment, was rather surprised to find Carla's face, which had shone with delight mere seconds earlier, now screwed up in pain as the poker hot slash now branded on her face burned her skin.

"Ow, Jesus CHRIST, Scorpius!" screeched Carla, tears welling up in her eyes as Liam hastily pressed a cold towel on her face. "What the FUCK?!"

Rose stared round at Scorpius, thinking just the same thing, only to find him calmly getting up and opening the carriage door as it shuddered to a halt.

"We're here," he said unnecessarily, staring at Rose pointedly.

"Uh," said Rose, glancing back at Carla uncertainly. "Shouldn't I-"

"Carla'll be just fine," said Scorpius firmly, without even looking at his cousin, whose face was now glistening with tears. "Come on, or we'll miss the feast."

Feeling supremely uncomfortable about leaving Carla, who, although Rose loathed her, really did seem to need help, Rose nevertheless got up and said awkwardly, "Um, you ok, Carla?"

Her concern was met with a look of pure disgust.

"I don't need help from a dirty Weasley-OW!!"

She squealed as the mark on her face burned red-raw.

"STOP IT, SCORPIUS!!"

*

James took his place at the teachers' table and stared around at the Great Hall.

Ahh, he thought, as he watched two fifth years start a food-fight, it's good to be back.


	11. The News

Ducking a piece of cauldron cake, and surveying the mess the food fight had made of the floor, Jessie commented casually, "Filch'll do his nut. Or die. One of the two."

Al muffled his laughter as Filch came shuffling past them, jowls all aquiver, waving his walking stick in the air at the offending fifth years.

"Oh, don't be so mean, Jessie!" scolded Leanne, frowning at her boyfriend's best friend. "He tries his best, the poor dear. And he's majorly old! Let him do what makes him happy!"

Jessie stared back at Leanne, a little lost for words.

Al felt the same way.

Leanne had never told _anyone _off, least of all Jessie. Normally she found Jessie's jokes quite funny.

"Hey, Lee, calm down!" laughed Al, feeling slightly uneasy. God, he didn't want his best friend and girlfriend falling out. He didn't think he'd be able to choose between the two if it came to picking sides. "Jessie was only joking."

Jessie nodded.

"Yeah, I was. I didn't mean to upset you, Leanne."

Leanne took a deep breath and then nodded.

"I appreciate that, Jessie. But, perhaps, next time, you should think before you speak?"

Jessie's eyebrows shot right up.

"Excuse me?"

Realising major damage control was in order, Al stepped between the pair of them and said pointedly to Jessie, "Hey, Jess, why don't you sit down whilst I walk Leanne to her table?"

Jessie, whose nostrils were flaring dangerously, gave Al a contemptuous look before sitting down at the Gryffindor House table, completely ignoring Leanne, who, too, was looking angrily at Al.

"Why are you standing up for her?" she cried, as Al practically dragged her to the Ravenclaw House table. "I'm your girlfriend, not her!"

"What are you going on about?" said Al, looking completely bewildered. "I know you're my girlfriend!"

"Well, you might try and act like it sometimes," spat Leanne, wrenching her arm from Al's grasp and plonking herself down angrily onto the bench between two fellow Ravenclaw seventh years, whilst Al stared at the back of her head incredulously.

"Leanne-?" he began but she shook her head sharply, indicating that he should leave.

Al caught the guy sat opposite's eye, who shrugged, looking just as bewildered as Al was.

Deciding Leanne needed some time cool down from… well, whatever the hell it was that had managed to completely flip-reverse her usually cool nature and enjoyment of Jessie's politically incorrect banter, Al walked back over to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Jessie, who was breathing heavily in and out of her nose.

"Look, Jessie, I don't-" Al began to say but Jessie held up a hand and said, "Don't. I'm not in the mood right now."

Sighing and rolling his eyes, Al went to reach for a glass of Pumpkin Juice just as a voice next to him said quietly, "It's just hormones, mate, don't worry about it. They'll calm down soon enough."

Looking round for the owner of the voice of wisdom, he nearly poured pumpkin juice all over the table.

"Fred! Where's your hair gone?!"

Fred Weasley grinned at his cousin, his hand reaching up unconsciously to brush his practically hairless head.

"Decided I wanted a change from the dreadlocks. Mum nearly had a heart attack when she saw it."

"What did your dad say?" asked Jessie, leaning round Al, all anger from her confrontation with Leanne apparently gone.

"Just laughed, of course," grinned George, pulling out a bag from under the table. "It gave him the idea for grow-your-own wigs."

He pulled out a pamphlet from his backpack and handed it to Al.

"That's just a basic outline, to give to the suppliers. Basically, you take a lock of your own hair, add it to the potion that's supplied and then decide what kind of hairstyle you want for the day."

"Then what?" asked Al, passing the leaflet to Jessie, who flipped through it interestedly.

"You drink it and voila! You get the hairstyle you've always dreamed of! Well… that's the theory, anyway. At the moment, Dad can't work out how to stop the potion from making all your real hair fall out."

"Well," smiled Jessie, handing George back the leaflet, "When your dad _does_ work out how to stop the hair-loss, let me know. I could do with a new hairstyle."

"You betcha," grinned George as he put the leaflet back into his bag and placed it under the table again.

Al, meanwhile, was frowning at Jessie.

"I like your hair," he muttered quietly.

To his great surprise, Jessie blushed.

"I-"

"Jesus, Hugo!" cried George, interrupting whatever Jessie was about to say. "What the hell happened to you?!"

Al and Jessie looked round and were alarmed to see Hugo taking a seat at the table with his face covered in blood.

"We got a duffing up, courtesy of Barrat and his cronies," sighed his friend, Finch, who was sitting himself down on the bench opposite, along with Hugo's other friend, Razor, both of them sporting a bloody lip. "Hugo, here, decided it would be a good idea to take them on."

"Oh, shut up, Finch!" spat Hugo, as he attempted to scrub off the blood with a tissue. "You're the one who insulted Barrat's IQ!"

"It was hardly an insult. The truth just hurt."

"Hey, guys!"

They all looked up to see an alarmed looking Lily skid to a stop next to where they were all sat.

"Ok," she said breathlessly, her brow furrowed in confusion, "Correct me if I'm wrong here, but did Rose just walk in with Scorpius Malfoy?!"

They all looked round in alarm to see a rather nervous-looking Rose walking into the Great Hall alongside a rather haughty looking Scorpius, who appeared to be carrying a tattered old book in his hand.

Noticing her family and friends' gazes upon them, Rose flushed a deep red and said to Scorpius, with a slight stammer, "Um, w-well, thanks for what you did in the carriage. It was, um, really, great of you… to stand up for me like that, I mean."

She felt herself flush even redder as Scorpius looked down at her, his dark eyes unreadable.

"You're welcome," he replied coolly, before walking over to the Slytherin table without another word.

Slightly stunned by his sudden disappearance, Rose couldn't help but stare at him as he sat down between his friends, already deep in discussion.

She jumped when a hand closed around her wrist.

"_Rose, sit down_," hissed Lily, as Jessie and Al budged along to make room for her.

Doing as she was told, Rose clambered over the bench as gracefully as she could and took a seat, fighting the urge to look back over at Scorpius as she did so.

"_What_ is going on?!" cried Lily, barging George aside so that she could sit down, too. "You and Malfoy are talking again?! Since when?!"

"_Shh, Lily, he'll hear you!_" hissed Rose, her eyes widening in alarm.

"Oh, shut up with your worry," scoffed Lily, looking supremely unconcerned, "And just tell us what the hell is going on!"

Rose sighed.

"I don't know," she answered truthfully.

Lily raised her eyebrows.

"You don't know?" she repeated flatly. "What do you mean, you don't know?"

Rose shrugged.

"It means, I don't know," shrugged Rose, ignoring all the disappointed looks on her friends and family's faces.

"Oh well a fat lot of good you are for gossip!" cried Lily, looking disgusted. "I'll just go back and sit with Terri and Jasmine! God, you guys are so boring!"

"I broke up with Liam because I found out he'd been cheating on me with Carla Greengrass," said Rose loudly over all the cries of "Hey!" from her offended family and friends. "That make it less boring for you?"

"What?!" cried Lily and Jessie in unison.

"He _cheated _on you?" gasped Jessie, just as Lily swore loudly, "Carla fucking Greengrass?! But she's a complete skank!"

"She's got big boobs though," shrugged Hugo, whilst Al, Fred, Finch and Razor all nodded in agreement.

"Oh, shut up, you pigs."

There wasn't time for anymore chatter, however, as McGonagall, looking rather frail, tapped her goblet lightly to indicate that the Headmaster was going to make his annual welcome back speech.

Except… except that it wasn't Flitwick who stood up, but a man with jet black hair, a broad smile playing across his face as he beamed down at all the students sat before him.

"Hey…" said Fred, frowning, "Wait a minute. Why is…"

"Oh God," muttered Al, Rose, and Hugo in unison, staring up at the man before them in horror.

"Oh, he's not!" hissed Lily, looking livid.

"Oh, he is!" grimaced Finch.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts!" boomed Harry Potter, looking amused at all the bemused faces staring back at him. "I know many of you are wondering what on earth I am doing here, when this is normally Professor Flitwick's role, but, unfortunately, Professor Flitwick has been taken ill, quite suddenly, and so-"

"Please don't say it," muttered James quietly, sat at the staff table, staring at his father and wishing with all his might. "Please don't say-"

"- I am going to be filling the position of Headmaster for the foreseeable future."

"Oh, crap," muttered Fred.

"Well, there go our rule-breaking days," sighed Finch, screwing up the piece of paper he'd been using to plot how he, Hugo and Razor were going to pay Barrat and his minions back.

"This officially _sucks!_" hissed Lily.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

**A/N: So this chapter's been an awfully long time in the making. Sorry it's been so long, I've just had a very serious case of writer's block. Hopefully I'm over that now and thank you for all the encouraging reviews you've been leaving me, urging me to carry on. ****  
****Search on YouTube for the trailer:)****  
****The rest of the foreseeable chapters will focus on one character's point of view (or possibly two, as Jessie and Al and Scorpius and Rose will be in a lot of chapters together where they will both need to put across their points of view) which will hopefully give you a more in-depth look at their individual story-lines. Thanks so much for reading:)**


	12. The Question

Oh God, thought Al, as he looked up at his father as he spoke enthusiastically about the school's new policy on teaching The Dark Arts to Sixth Years, this is not going to go well.

He let his gaze slide along the staff table and couldn't help grinning when he saw James' horrified expression. He looked over all the other teachers and wasn't surprised to see a greying Hagrid beaming with pride two seats along from Harry.

Shaking his head, he let his gaze return to the table, where most of his family and friends were sat, with looks varying from dumbstruck to appalled.

He couldn't help noticing, though, that his best Jessie Goldstein's expression was rather vacant, as though she were thinking about other things outside of what was happening in the Great Hall at that moment in time.

Just as Al was wondering what Jessie might be thinking about, she looked round at him, evidently feeling his eyes on her.

Much to his surprise, Al felt himself blush, embarrassed he'd been caught staring at her.

Jessie frowned and mouthed, "What?"

Not wanting to look like an idiot, Al just smiled and mouthed, "Elephant juice," at her.

Where normally this response would have been met with a grin and an "I love you too, loser," this time it was Jessie's turn to blush.

Looking awkward, she just shook her and turned back to look up at Harry, leaving a bewildered and, for some reason, worried Al to ponder whether this change in their usually very close relationship would be a permanent one. He prayed with all his might that it wouldn't be.

Was this all because of what Leanne had said to he and Jessie earlier? Al had no idea what had been wrong with Leanne then – she'd never flipped out at Jessie like that before and the only time she'd ever blown up at him like that was when she'd accused him of flirting with one of James' ex-girlfriends (which, by the way, he hadn't been doing – James had borrowed a doppelganger charm off of George and made himself look like Al in order to see whether he could pull even when he did 'look like a dweeb'). But jealousy couldn't possibly have motivated Leanne – Jessie was his best friend, for goodness' sake, always had been and nothing more. Fancying Jessie would be like fancying his own sister!

He shuddered at this thought and involuntarily looked over at Lily, who appeared to have given up on listening to their father and was instead gazing over at the Ravenclaw table.

Fighting hard to rid himself of all disturbing mental images that had just flooded his brain, he followed Lily's example and looked over at the Ravenclaw table too.

Leanne was sat with her back to him, hanging on his father's every word, being the good and attentive student that she was.

For the first time that he could remember, Al felt a stab of anger towards her. Why had she been such a cow when Jessie (who Al secretly thought had a bit of a soft spot for Filch after he'd rescued her – albeit very, _very_ reluctantly – from the toilet cubicle she'd gotten trapped in in first year) was merely being her usual self? What had changed in Leanne in the last three months that had made her act that way?

Al shook his head, frustrated.

He was probably reading way too much into the situation, as per usual. He had a tendency, just like his father, to over-think things and get obsessive about anything that wasn't quite the norm.

He grimaced, remembering the time in second year when he'd been convinced that Filch's then kitten, Mrs Norris III, had been possessed by the ghost of a Death Eater who'd died at Hogwarts during the Great Battle and was intent on getting revenge on Harry by driving his son mad with endless stalking and meowing. It was only after Al had been hauled in front of Flitwick for attempting to stun the cat that James had revealed that he had sewn cat food into the bottom of Al's school robes and jeans for a joke, which had been why Mrs Norris III had been following him around for weeks.

Al was pulled back to the present day by the sound of scraping benches and banging as everyone tucked into the newly appeared feast, his father's welcome-back speech over.

He winced as Jessie dug her elbow into his ribs.

"Ow!"

"Chicken?"

Al looked down at the plate of drumsticks she was holding under his nose.

Relief washed through him. Maybe things hadn't changed after all.

Thank God, he thought, thanking her and grabbing a couple of pieces of chicken and putting them on his plate.

Looking back at Jessie, he was pleased to see that she looked relaxed as she put the plate back down on the table and grabbed a bowl full of pasta instead.

"Look, Jess," he began quietly, as she spooned pasta onto her plate, "I'm sorry about what happened earlier with Leanne and stuff."

Jessie shook her head as she finished filling her plate and picked up some pasta sauce.

"Don't be silly, Al," she said, drowning her pasta in Arabiatta sauce. "It wasn't your fault. Leanne just wasn't getting the humour of situation today, that's all. I suggest you let her cool down tonight and then speak to her in the morning. Then, once you two are loved-up again, I'll welcome myself back into the fold with open arms. Easy peasy."

Al nodded, but there was still something niggling at him.

"Yeah, I guess," he agreed slowly, unsure as how to phrase his worry. "But did you hear what she said to me, about how I should try and act like she was my girlfriend sometimes, or something? What was that all about?"

As he waited for Jessie to reply, he thought he saw a flicker of something… dark flash through her eyes, as thought she were thinking about something… painful… hurtful even.

A second later, though, he wasn't so sure. Maybe he'd imagined it.

Jessie's reply certainly seemed to suggest that.

"Ah, Al, my little pal," grinned Jessie patronisingly, all traces of dark eyes gone, "Sometimes, when a guy has two special girls in his life, it can be difficult for the one that has been with him the least amount of time, i.e. his girlfriend, not to feel a little threatened by the girl who has been through it all with him, i.e. his best friend. The long and short of it is that Leanne just got a bit jealous when you stuck up for me instead of her. It signalled to her that you like me more than her, and that, in turn, could well signal that you care about me as more than just a friend, if you get my drift-"

"But that's stupid!" interrupted Al, shaking his head furiously. "She _knows_ that you're like a sister to me!"

He was slightly taken aback when Jessie grimaced at this exclamation but he needn't have worried it was anything to do with Jessie wishing that she could be more than that as, a moment later, she said, "Please don't say horrible things like that to me. You saying that I'm like a sister to you means that I'm practically related to James and no sane person would ever choose that!"

"Whoever said that you were sane?" teased Al, groaning as she kicked him in the ankle.

"Ha ha, you're funny Potter, really funny!" said Jessie sarcastically, turning back to her pasta. "Now shut up and let me eat my dinner!"

**Hey, thanks for reading! The next chapter will be of the same events, just from Jessie's point of view! Also, check out the trailer on YouTube!**


	13. The Guy

"This officially _sucks!_" hissed Lily, to Rose. "Why is it always _my_ father who comes and teaches here?! Why couldn't it be Lyle McLaggen's? At least he's fit!"

"Some people think that Uncle Harry is-"

"Don't even say it!" cried Lily in a whisper. "The words 'fit' and 'my father' are not three that should follow each other!"

"Yeah, well," muttered Rose, looking mutinous. "At least no one used to call your dad 'Won-Won'."

"Well, no, because that would've meant that they were completely retarded, seeing as how his name doesn't even rhyme with that!"

"Ha ha," said Rose sarcastically, flicking Lily on the arm. "You know what I mean."

Lily rolled her eyes at her cousin and turned her gaze back to her father.

Five seconds later she was already bored with what he was saying and instead focused her attention on the Ravenclaw table and, in particular, a handsome, blonde haired seventh year.

Last year, it had been decided that, due to her impressive prowess at Potions, she should be moved up a year in that class. Although at the time she'd only been in 5th Year, Lily was more than capable of brewing Felix Felicis and Wolfsbane potions - both of which she'd tried making in her bedroom, which had not, originally, gone down too well with her mum and dad, especially when the Felix Felicis fumes had leaked out from her room and made James, who had inhaled them through, of all things, a recorder he'd found in a box of Aunt Hermione's old things and was trying to work out how to play, get so confident that he'd tried to fly. Without a broomstick. From the third floor window. Above concrete.

She had, admittedly, not been all that impressed when she'd been asked to move classes, away from all her friends. She'd no idea where this super extreme talent for Potion making had come from, seeing as neither of her parents were that great at the subject (except when one *cough* her dad *cough* had had a little bit of a helping hand in his sixth year…), although she had heard stories that her Grandmother and namesake had been a bit of a Potions whiz too. Well, according to one of her Dad's acquaintances Horace Slughorn. Whom, it had to be said, she was slightly wary of, ever since he'd tried to invited her James and Al round for dinner so that they could discuss how amazing their parents had been at school. Like she hadn't heard enough about them from all the books she'd had to read in History of Magic!

Anyway, all Lily's negative feelings towards her new Advanced Potion Making classes had evaporated as soon as she saw _him_.

She'd been utterly and completely in love with Chuck Davis from the moment she'd walked into that classroom and seen his hunky, six foot one frame, gorgeous golden locks and heartbreaking smile. In fact his whole visage was a textbook of cliches, but Lily didn't care. He was the best looking guy she'd ever set eyes on. And now, she got to spend every single class, which she'd previously thought she'd hate, with him!

Of course, as typical as things like that are in life, he didn't even seem to notice her. Despite the fact that they'd been just two tables away from each other every single Potions class, Chuck had never said a word to her.

Oh, except the time when she'd dropped Arachnid eggs onto his new shoes.

That time he'd sworn.

But not even at her.

Why, Lily had thought at the time, is life so _unfair?!_ I would give _anything _for him to say the word 'fuck!' to me as passionately as he did to those brand new leather shoes of his! I wish _I_ were his shoes!

Lily was torn out of her reverie by a prod on each arm by Jasmine and Terri, who had, since her dad's speech had now ended, come down to sit with her.

"Hey, vacant-look – what're you spacing at?"

Lily blinked as her friends took a seat next to her.

"What?"

"Who were you looking at?" grinned Jasmine, looking in the same direction Lily had been.

"Ohhh," she said, when she saw Chuck. "Still crushing on the older guy, I see!"

"Shut up!" hissed Lily, turning red. "Someone might hear you!"

"Oh, please," snorted Terri, grabbing a tuna steak that had just appeared on the table in front of them and garnishing it with salad. "These losers are _way_ too absorbed in their own lives to listen in to yours, even though you _are_ famous and your dad is now the temporary Headmaster of Hogwarts!"

"Oh God," groaned Lily, putting her head in her hands. "Will my bad luck _ever_ go away?!"

There was a _phut _as a large date landed in Jessie's, who was sat next to her, pasta.

"What the-?" frowned Jessie, phishing out the date from her food and looking round to see who had thrown it.

She, just as Lily had done a moment before, let out a loud groan.

"Oh man! What the hell does James want now?"

Terri patted Lily consolingly on the shoulder as they all watched James waving frantically at them to come over and speak to him.

"Sorry Lils. Doesn't look like that luck's changin' anytime soon!" 

**Wow! Long time no write, huh?! I'm sorry this chapter is so short, but I've been so inundated with messages asking me to continue that I just had to get something out there! Is this good enough? Do you want me to keep going?!**


	14. The Slytherin

As Lily rolled her eyes and turned to listen to her father, Rose found her mind wandering to Scorpius.

Scorpius and Rose had been best friends from the minute they'd bumped into each other on the Hogwarts Express seven years ago. Scorpius had, to eleven-year-old Rose's extreme embarrassment, overheard what her dad had said to her about 'not getting too friendly' with him and that 'Grandad Weasley' would 'never forgive her if she married a Pure-Blood'. He, in contrast, had found it absolutely hilarious and had said that he wouldn't want to marry a Pure-Blood either but that he did hope that she'd be friends with him, as he really needed to shake off the Malfoy bad-name and that he thought that having Ron Weasley's daughter on-side might just be the way to do it. Rose had just stared at him after this proclamation but that didn't deter Scorpius. He'd taken her by the arm and led her into the compartment he had all to himself (he admitted, all his previous bravado gone, that nobody wanted to sit with an attempted murderer's son) and pulled out a book, entitled 'The Harry Potter Years'. He'd opened it up and shown her all the places he'd marked; the story of how her Uncle Harry had nearly killed his dad; how a year later, despite his father trying to offload him onto Voldemort, Harry had pulled Draco out of a murderous fire and saved his life; the time when Rose's mum had slapped Scorpius' dad; and a copy print of the photograph taken of their granddads scrapping in Flourish and Blotts when their parents had only been 12 (or thirteen in Rose's mum's case).

Rose had never read this book (her parents had kept most of their famous antics to themselves, as they didn't want any big-headedness on her part and said that it would be more exciting to learn about things they'd done on her own) and was absolutely enthralled by it. She had found herself beginning to loosen up around Scorpius and by the end of the train journey they were firm friends.

Of course, when her family found out about it they weren't all pleased – where there was one person like her mum who was happy old prejudices weren't being continued into another generation, there were five others (like her dad, Uncle George and James to name but a few) who thought Rose had completely lost her mind and that Scorpius Malfoy should be avoided at all costs.

But whatever her family's feelings towards Scorpius and his father, Rose didn't care; she was determined to keep up their friendship, no matter what.

Scorpius had been there for her the first time she'd ever had a crush on someone and had her heartbroken (damn Lyle McLaggen and his philandering ways!); he'd held back her hair when she'd thrown up her guts due to getting horrendously drunk (shamefully at the age of fourteen; James, had, of course, tricked her into it); allowed her to kiss him on the lips to check that she wasn't an awful snogger like Michael Corner jr. had told everyone (although, to be fair, he was now fully out of the closet, so Rose no longer took it quite so much to heart); and had done so many other things for her. Rose couldn't have imagined a life without Scorpius.

And yet, in less than twenty minutes, a year and a half ago, Rose had lost her best friend in the entire world. And she still had no idea why.

Rose swallowed as she felt a lump well up in her throat and felt a painful squeeze in her chest, just as she always did when she thought in depth about it all.

However, she had to admit she was intrigued as to why Scorpius had stood up for her when Carla was being a bitch; why he'd insisted on walking her into the hall; and, most oddly of all, why he was reading Romeo and Juliet, a book, he had once called, quote: the biggest pile of shit he had ever had the misfortune to come across, unquote. Scorpius had never really struck Rose as the sort of person who would bother reading something he so utterly detested.

Could he possibly be reading it because he knew Rose liked it?

Rose mentally slapped herself at this thought.

_Of course_ he wasn't reading it because of her! Scorpius didn't even _like_ her anymore! He'd made that perfectly clear the day he'd sent back their special 'friends forever' charm bracelet, broken in half as the spell on it dictated when the friendship ended.

Rose actually felt tears welling up in her eyes at the memory of that kick in the chest.

Stop it, she scolded herself, there's no point dwelling on things that cannot be changed and that happened so bloody long ago.

But what if… she began to think, what if I hadn't-!

Oh shit!

Rose turned bright red as she hastily averted her eyes from the Slytherin table and Scorpius, whom she hadn't realised she'd been staring at and who had just turned around, his dark cold eyes on her, a quizzical look of disdain on his face.

Shit shit shit, thought Rose, her heart giving a funny little wiggle, that is _so embarrassing_! I can't believe he caught me looking at him! _Why was I looking at him?!_

However, before she could start mentally torturing herself with all the horrible things Scorpius could now be thinking about her, she was distracted by Jessie Goldstein going, "Oh man! What the hell does James want now?"

Looking round, she saw her cousin waving manically at them all from the teachers' table.

Oh great, she thought, sighing loudly, now I get to stand up in the middle of dinner and walk right _past_ Scorpius. Jeez, that'll be fun… not! Oh, god, I really hope I don't have a VPL.

Or worse - a wedgie!

**Short again, I know, but these are just character filler chapters. When they're all back together again, they will be longer!****  
****Thanks for all your great reviews and I hope you enjoyed!xx**


	15. The Boys

"Well, isn't this a load of bollocks," muttered Finch, turning away from Harry and talking to Hugo and Razor. "Fancy planning our revenge on Barrat and his cronies instead?"

"Definitely," said Hugo, as Harry started ranting on about not going into the Forbidden Forrest because it was, shockingly, 'forbidden'. "Got any ideas?"

"I reckon," said Razor, cracking his knuckles in what he evidently thought was a threatening way, "We beat them up! Smash their faces in!"

"And get ourselves not only detention but a criminal record?" said Finch, sounding disgusted. "Yeah, no thanks. Barrat needs to pay for all the times he's messed with us, all the things he's said and done to get at us. It's gotta be something cunning; something Barrat's low IQ brain would never think of!"

"And we would?" scoffed Hugo, nodding meaningfully in Razor's direction. "Finch, you're the only one out of the three of us who isn't failing their OWLs!"

"Be that as it may," said Finch, rolling his eyes as Razor nodded in agreement, "Seeing as how you have one of the bestmaster pranksters of the 21st Century for an uncle, _surely_, low intellectual capacity aside, you could think of _something_?"

Hugo thought for a moment.

"Mmm… nope."

*

Son of a bitch, James thought in annoyance, glancing anxiously over at his father, who was gesticulating wildly as he laid out his plans for Inter-School Quidditch, why does it always happen to _me_?

Could he _not_, he thought angrily, have said _no_ to Flitwick's job?! For once in his life, could the man not just leave the hefty weight of responsibility down with the little man?! How am I _ever_ gonna pull any of the of-age students with him hanging around?!

Oh, Jesus, that Sienna girl is looking at me again.

James waved half-heartedly at her, feeling bad for making her cry but also pretty freaked out that she was still totally obsessed with him.

He grimaced when she waved enthusiastically back, a manically happy smile on her face.

Much to his alarm, she started to get up out of her seat, his father's speech having now ended and the food having just arrived, meaning everyone was free to do what they wished.

Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, he thought, wildly looking around for someone to distract him so he didn't have to talk to her.

Noticing that the Gryffindor table was right in his eye-line and that Jessie and Lily, who were always good at chatting about shit and would easily sidetrack him and thus divert Sienna's attention on to someone else, like maybe Al or Hugo, he grabbed a date from a plate in front of him and aimed it at Jessie.

He missed her head and it instead landed in her pasta. It had the desired effect, however, as she turned around to see who'd thrown it.

He began waving his hand furiously. Her face darkened as she set eyes on him and he could easily make out the words, "Oh man! What does James want now?"

Brilliant, he thought, waving even harder. Phase one of the plan complete.

Now they just need to hurry their butts over here before Sienna arrives.

He saw, out the corner of his eye, her fast approaching.

Shit, he thought, his eyes widening in panic, move it people, move it!

**I know this is ridiculously short but after this we're gonna get into the full swing of the story as the character fillers are now complete, yipee! Thanks for all your reviews, it's brilliant to see how loyal you all still are to the story and how much you still enjoy it!**


	16. The Mirror

"Oh, for God's sake," growled Lily, turning around and mouthing at James, "WHAT?!"

"Come here!" he mouthed back, looking frantic.

"Why?!" Lily replied, her mouth screwed up in annoyance.

"Just come!!" James yelled, forgetting where he was and wincing as he saw all the teachers turn around and look at him in disapproval, his dad amongst them.

Feeling slightly abashed, his emotions turned to elation as he saw Sienna, who was now only five teachers away from him, crash into a little first year who had gotten up to speak to his new friend in Gryffindor house, sending him, and his food, flying everywhere.

As she bent down to help him out, James looked to the heavens and thanked Merlin for small mercies and minute first years.

As James appreciated his lucky stars, the rest of his family were getting into a squabble about who should go and help him.

"Well, I'm not going," said Hugo bluntly, tucking into a plate of chicken wings. "Al can go if he wants a man."

"Al, whose best friend is a girl?" teased Jessie, causing Al to turn as red as a tomato.

"Cheers, Jessie," he muttered, feeling oddly hurt.

"Anytime," she grinned, poking her tongue out and giving him a friendly punch on the shoulder.

Rubbing the place where she'd hit him, Al felt strangely upset.

Pull yourself together, mate, he thought to himself angrily, forcing a smile; Jessie teases you all the time, just tease her back!

"Yeah, well," he managed to cough out, "At least I didn't get mistaken for a BOY when I was wearing MY hair up."

"Traitor," muttered Jessie, narrowing her eyes at him.

Al grinned at her.

Grinning back, Jessie was pleased to see that the awkward and worried look Al had been sporting throughout dinner had disappeared.

Good, she thought, inwardly nodding; this'll make things a lot easier when the inevitable make up session with Leanne arrives.

She restrained herself from gagging at this thought and made herself listen to what the others were saying.

"Right," said Lily bossily, "Al, Jessie, you're up. You, too, Rose. No hiding from Scorpius now."

"Wh-" protested Rose, her face burning up. "I'm not _hiding_ from him! I don't even care what Scorpius Malfoy th-"

"Move it, buddy," interrupted Lily, grabbing her arm and dragging her up and over the bench.

"Lil!" squealed Rose in protest, going even redder at the thought of Scorpius seeing her looking so ridiculous.

WAIT!

Why did she even _care_ what Malfoy thought?! Hadn't she just TOLD Lily that she didn't give a stuff?

"God, what is _wrong _with me?" moaned Rose as she rearranged her robes, trying not to look at the Slytherin table to see if _he'd_ noticed.

"You're in luurrvvee and you won't admit it," said Lily happily, taking hold of Rose's arm again and pulling her forward.

"Now, remember," she muttered, as they walked towards James, "Walk assuredly, but sexily, purse your lips _ever _so slightly and make damn sure that you tuck your hair behind your ear as we walk past _him_. Got it?"

Rose wasn't listening.

Lily sighed, and glanced over to see if the guy she had fallen head over heels for was looking at her.

He wasn't.

Feeling deflated and a little upset, Lily gripped Rose's arm tighter and pulled her along faster.

"Ow!" cried Rose, as they sped forward, "That hurts!"

Lily ignored her, and concentrated on venting her anger towards Chuck at James, who was looking surprisingly relieved for someone who, thirty seconds earlier, had looked like he was going to have a panic attack.

Just as they were coming to the gap between the Ravenclaw and Slytherin table, a hand reached out and tugged Rose's other arm.

As Rose squealed in surprise, Lily was flung backwards as her cousin stopped dead to see who'd caught her.

Relief at seeing it was only Kingsley's nephew, Nathan, soon turned to worry as she remembered that the last time Nathan had touched her arm was the night that everything fell apart with Scorpius.

She forced herself not to look over at the Slytherin table as she answered Nathan's questions about how her summer was, and if she was looking forward to DADA.

But if she had taken a moment to glance over there, she would have spied a very angry and jealous-looking seventh year, with very blond hair, reliving memories of heartbreaks past…


	17. The Threat

As Lily grabbed Rose and dragged her off towards James, Al and Jessie got up too.

Just as Jessie was climbing over the bench, she got her foot caught in her robes and nearly landed face first on the floor.

Fortunately, Al caught her, grabbing her in his arms and pulling her into his chest.

Jessie felt her heart go mad.

Grimacing, she swiftly pulled away from him once she'd regained her balance and hid her blushing face by looking in the opposite direction.

She felt her heart sink as she caught Leanne's eye. Despite being a good table and a half away, Jessie could see the anger on her face and knew that their make-up session later was going to be a hell of a lot harder now.

Gritting her teeth, she looked back round at Al, who was looking somewhat confused at Jessie's rather brash action.

"You're welcome," he said, somewhat sarcastically, narrowing his eyes.

"Al, I-" Jessie began to say but he'd already clambered over the bench and headed off towards the staff table.

Swearing under her breath, wondering how things had soured so quickly and hoping that this wasn't a sign of things to come, Jessie followed him.

Noticing that Lily and Rose had stopped to talk to Nathan Shacklebolt, she began to change course but found her progress impeded immediately as a tall, blonde guy crashed into her.

Regaining her balance for the second time in about five minutes, she was startled to see a very angry-looking Scorpius Malfoy glaring down at her.

To her immense surprise, however, he didn't growl at her for getting in his way; instead, he said, now looking apologetic, "Sorry, Jessie, I didn't see you. Excuse me."

Before she could utter a single word he was gone.

Feeling stunned, she continued her journey towards Rose and Lily.

Once she reached them, without so much as a hello, she blurted out, "Scorpius Malfoy just called me Jessie! And _apologised_ to me!"

Abandoning their conversation with Nathan, the two cousins turned around to look at her, their mouths hanging open.

"He did _what_?!"

"No _way_! Scorpius is becoming human again!"

"I know!"

"Wow," said Lily, as Rose continued to look completely stunned. "Rose, maybe he's ditched his asshole persona and wants to join the real world again! Oh my God! You guys might be able to make babies again!!!"

"Wha-We've never had sex!" cried Rose, looking aghast as the whole of the Ravenclaw table turned around and stared at her.

"Nice one, Rose," sniggered Lily, as she pulled her now flushing cousin away from Nathan with a wave and finally made it to the staff table. "I didn't mean you'd actually _had _sex with, just that you _wanted _to – we all saw your second year diary entitled 'Mrs Rose Scorpius Malfoy'!"

"You did what?!"

"Where the _hell_ have you three been?!" James practically yelled, interrupting Lily before she could wind Rose up anymore. "I called for you _ages_ ago! What the fu- Sienna! Hi!"

Looking extremely panicked, James grinned at Sienna, who had finally reached him and was holding out a piece of brightly covered parchment which looked very much like-

"-Wow, a welcome back card!" cried James, showing it to a rather astonished Al, Jessie, Rose and Lily, bewildered enthusiasm on his face. "Isn't that nice, guys?!"

"Er, yeah," muttered Al, his anger at Jessie for not thanking him for helping her and her odd behaviour abandoned in favour of wondering what the hell was going on. "Yeah, it's real nice, uh, Sienna."

"Are you kidding me?" whispered Lily, turning around to him with wide eyes, a look of disbelief on her face. "It's the most fucking ridiculous thing I've ever seen!"

"I'm sorry?" said Sienna, a frown just visible under her razor sharp fringe? "What did you say?"

"I said it's just gorgeous," simpered Lily, turning back to face her, a grin on her face, her eyes looking over the girl in front of her mockingly. "Excuse me but I have to return to my friends. Bye, bye now."

Jessie, Rose and Al stared after her, looking anguished as they realised their main mouthpiece had just left to go and laugh her head off.

James, however, was too busy trying to fend off Sienna's advances.

"I'm sorry, Sienna, but I just cannot date students. If I was not your Professor, then maybe, but I am and that's that."

"But-" Sienna began to say, looking confused. "But what if-"

"Look, he said no, alright! Now just drop it!"

Stunned, everyone looked round at Jessie, who was glaring at Sienna with a startling look of anger.

"He doesn't want you, he's never wanted you and now he can't have you!" she continued, apparently oblivious to the looks of surprise on her friends and Sienna's faces. "Deal with it!"

Before anyone could say anything to her, Jessie stormed off, barging past Al as she did so and headed for the Entrance Hall.

"Woah, ok," said James, staring after Jessie. "What's wrong with her? You two have a lover's tiff, Al?"

"Oh, shut up," spat Al angrily and followed Jessie's lead.

Across the room, Leanne stood up too and exited the hall.

"Um," said Rose nervously, looking between a teary Sienna and a surprisingly impressed-looking James, "I should go. It was nice meeting you, Sienna."

She got no reply.

"O-ka-y…" she muttered under her breath, raising her eyebrows as she left her cousin to it and returned to her dinner.

Realising he was on his own again, James coughed and looked down at Sienna, who was eyeing him with a devastated expression. "Look, Sienna, what Jessie said, it-"

"I know," said Sienna, nodding calmly, her devastation suddenly gone and her eyes narrowing. "She's a dirty, rotten liar. Don't worry; she'll get her comeuppance eventually. I'll see you later, _Professor_ Potter."

James stared, unable to utter a word, as Sienna went back to her table.

Sitting back down, he turned to Professor Plumhill, the Arithmancy teacher, and said boldly, "Deep."

"Looks like Hogwarts is gonna be a right barrel of drama this year!"

He grinned wickedly.

"Ace."


	18. Al and Jessie The Drama

"Jessie! Jessie, wait!"

Jessie, half way up the Grand Staircase, gritted her teeth and came to a stop.

Taking a deep breath, she turned around in time to see her best friend come bounding up the stairs, a look of sheer confusion on his face.

"What the hell has gotten into you?" panted Al as he drew level with her two steps below. "What was that all about with Sienna? You're never mean!"

Jessie looked away from him, the look of disappointment in his eyes too much to bear as her secret anger at him melted.

"I'm sorry," she sighed, feeling her eyes getting teary as she looked back at him. Blinking them away, she continued, "I've just been… wound up by what happened with Leanne; I don't know why she had at go at me like that earlier, I'm always like that!"

"I know," said Al, taking the two steps that were keeping them apart and placing his hand around her arm.

Jessie sucked in her breath as she looked down at his fingers closing around her arm.

Her heart started beating wildly as she returned her eyes to his.

He was staring down at her intently, his mouth parted in an unanswered question.

"Al!"

Jessie gasped and jumped back as Al released her arm and slipped down a stair in surprise.

Feeling her face flush, Jessie looked away as Leanne reached them, her face screwed up in some unreadable expression.

"What on earth is going on?" asked Leanne, looking between them in angry confusion. "Why did you both run out like that? Why're you out here on your own?"

"Lee, we were just talking," Al assured her, holding out his hand.

Leanne looked at it for a moment and then took it.

"I'm sorry, Leanne," said Jessie, turning to face them again and holding back a grimace as she noticed Al holding her hand. "I shouldn't have said what I did about Filch; it was insensitive of me."

"That's alright," said Leanne, with a patronising smile as she began to pull Al up the stairs. "We'll catch you later, Jessie; we need to have some alone time as a _couple_. You understand, don't you?"

Jessie fought back the urge to smack Leanne around the face as she dragged an apologetic Al off to the Gryffindor common room and instead settled for staring open mouthed at their retreating backs.

"You love him, don't you?"

Jessie jumped about half a mile in the air as she turned to see Scorpius Malfoy stood behind her, surveying her with a pitying but understanding look on his face.

Putting a hand to her chest, Jessie took a steadying breath before replying, "I do not."

Scorpius raised his eyebrows at her.

"Yeah, okay, and me and Rose are still the best of friends. Pull the other one. You've been in love with him for years. I've seen it."

Jessie looked at him incredulously.

"What are you- where are you getting this from, Scorpius?"

Scorpius blinked.

"You're not gonna call me Malfoy?"

Jessie stared at him like he was mad.

"Why would I do that?" she asked with a frown.

Scorpius looked almost pleased as he shrugged.

"Because you all hate me for what happened with Rose," he explained, trying to look nonchalant and failing.

Jessie was surprised at the look of pain that flashed across his face as he said Rose's name.

"Scorpius, do you-?" she began to ask but she was interrupted by the Great Hall doors banging open as the tidal wave of students from inside began to exit to go up to bed.

Before she could say anything, Scorpius had disappeared down the stairs and into the corridor that lead to the Slytherin dungeons.

Blinking and shaking her head at how surreal her night had become, Jessie turned and made her way up the rest of the stairs to stop herself from being trampled on by the stampede of excited students eagerly anticipating reaching their warm beds and the chance to catch up on the rest of the gossip they'd not been able to fit in over dinner.

"Jessie!"

Jessie felt like screaming as she turned around for what had to be the fiftieth time that night and waited for the onslaught of questions about her sudden disappearance.

However, she was pleasantly surprised by Lily's line of question, which, whilst blunt, was better than anything involving the name 'Al'.

"Was that Scorpius _Malfoy _talking to just a minute ago?! What the hell did he want with _you_?!"

"Hi, Lily, it's nice to see you again," replied Jessie sarcastically, turning around to continue her quest to reach the seemingly elusive Gryffindor common room. "And yes, it was Scorpius Malfoy. He was just saying… um…"

Jessie stopped, realising she couldn't exactly tell her best friend's cousin that Scorpius had ascertained that she was in love with him.

Instead, she decided to go with the Rose line – at least it would throw the attention off her.

Or so she thought.

"… he was just saying he thought that we all hated him for what happened between him and Rose, that's all," she finished, pushing back the tapestry that lead to a quicker way to the common room and climbing through it.

Lily, plus her friends Terri and Jasmine, followed her.

"Woah, woah, woah!" said Lily, walking faster to catch up with Jessie. "Why does Scorpius care if you hate him or not? I didn't even know that you guys spoke that-"

Lily stopped dead, her mouth agape.

Wondering where her shadow had gone, Jessie looked behind her and stopped when she saw Lily was now five steps below her.

"Lil, what're you-?"

"Oh my God," Lily breathed, interrupting Jessie's question. "Oh my God – Jessie, Scorpius Malfoy is in love with you!"

"WHAT?!"

"I'm serious, Jess – it makes total sense!"

"No it doesn't, Lily, it makes no sense at all!" cried Jessie, shaking her head at the over-excited girl in front of her. "He likes Rose, you fool! He always has done!"

"Yeah, as a friend!" agreed Lily excitedly, getting into her stride. "But he's never had a girlfriend since they stopped being friends-"

"Yes he has!"

"-well, not an official one, anyway," continued Lily, ignoring Jessie completely. "And then what, all of a sudden he's talking to her and you again? What's _that _all about, huh?!"

"It's not about anything, Lily, you fool! Maybe he just wants to become Rose's friend again, and thinks he needs the support of her friends to do that?!"

Lily paused and then shook her head.

"Nah!"

"You're insufferable sometimes, Lily Potter," said Jessie firmly, turning and racing up the remaining stairs before Lily could say anything else ridiculous.

Having successfully thrown off her completely nuts acquaintance, Jessie finally reached the Gryffindor common room, desperately looking forward to reaching her bed and dreaming away the events of the day.

However, when she got inside, she found a giggling band of seventh year boys stood at the foot of the boy's staircase, blocking the new first years' way up.

Myers Cauldon, easily one of the hottest guys at Hogwarts, was guffawing over something Finch, who was also stood in the group, along with Hugo and Razor, had said.

Walking over, Jessie smiled at the worried looking first years before putting on her scariest face and tapping Myers and Finch hard on their shoulders.

"What the hell is going on here?" she said, inwardly marvelling how much that word had been said in the past half an hour or so. "Why aren't you letting the first years through?"

"Jessie!" cried Hugo, barging past Finch and Myers so that he was in front of her. "Jessie, you will _never_ believe what Al's doing! He's having _sex_ with Leanne! That's why no one is going up there, because we can hear them at it! Isn't that hilarious?!"

Jessie felt her heart stop and her breathing constrict.

"He's doing… what?"

"Jessie!"

"Sex, Jessie! Doing it! Shagging! Creating a set of bespectacled babies!"

"Jessie, why did you run off like that?!"

"He's having… Al's…"

"Listen Jessie, I've had another thought about the whole you and Scorpius thing-"

"Jessie, are you alright? You look a bit ill. To be fair, I feel it too, imagining Al pumping Leanne-"

"-and I don't think that you're thinking it through-"

""-especially after all that crap he's been saying about waiting until they're married. Ooh, Al's a hypocrite!"

"I can't believe he's… he and Leanne…"

"Think about it, Jess, he's always been really nice to you and you to him – which you are to everyone, so that's neither here nor there – and you've gotten really hot in recent years, especially over the summer-"

"Hey, guys, I think I can hear some movement! I think they're coming down!"

"Lily, _please_, just drop it-"

"Oh, hey Rose, how was your summer?"

"-No, Jessie, listen to me-"

"Hey, hey, the wonder pair are back down! Been having fun, have you?"

"-Scorpius Malfoy_ is_ _in love with you, Jessie_!"

"What?!"

"W-what?"

"Jessie…what is she talking about?"

"Scorpius… he-he l-loves you…?"

"Since when?! Why didn't you _tell_ me?!"

"Rose! Wait!"

"Oh my God - _Jessie_!"


	19. Rose and Scorpius The Result

"Rose?"

Rose continued sobbing, too upset to talk to anyone.

"Rose, is that you?"

Realising she didn't really have a choice she took a great sniff and looked up.

Staring down at her was her very worried-looking uncle, holding a clipboard with a piece of parchment attached to it.

When Harry saw her face, he said, "Oh, Rosie, what's happened? Why are you crying?"

Being reminded that she was upset caused a fresh wave of tears to spill down her cheeks and for her to put her face back between her knees, weeping as she remembered what Lily had told Jessie.

"Rose, please talk to me – tell me who's upset you."

"N-n-n-o o-o-n-e," she stammered, trying valiantly to keep her voice steady and failing. "It's n-nothing imp-p-portant."

"Well, it obviously is," Harry pointed out, taking a seat on the ground in front of her, "Otherwise you wouldn't be out here all by yourself, sobbing on the cold stone floor."

Rose couldn't help snorting at her uncle's straight forward way of dealing with things and decided it was time to start venting.

"Well," she began, lifting her head up again and wiping at her streaming nose, "It all started when Lily said-"

"Oh God, what's my daughter done this time?" interrupted Harry, looking to the heavens as he wondered why he could never have children who didn't create so much drama all the time.

He grimaced as he remembered the standing ovation James had gotten when he'd introduced him as the new Assistant Care of Magical Creatures Professor.

Especially when that fifth year had flashed her boobs at him - that had been one step too far.

A loud sniff bought him back to the present and he reached over and gave his niece a hug.

"Sorry, Rosie, what were you saying before?"

Rose sniffed again and began to continue with her story but was interrupted by a frightened yell.

"Dad! Dad, thank God!"

Alarmed, Harry and Rose looked around and saw a terrified Al come skidding towards them.

"Dad, it's Jessie – she's collapsed!"

*

"Really, I'm fine, I just want to go to bed-"

Jessie was already back on her feet by the time Al, Rose and Harry came rushing into the common room.

Surrounded by concerned Gryffindors –Lily at the forefront – all trying to give her a hand, she was desperately trying to get people to leave her alone.

"-Please, I don't need any help-"

"Alright folks, let's break this up!" said Harry loudly, indicating that everyone should get off to bed. "Miss Potter-"

Lily, who was apologising to Jessie profusely and looking very, very guilty, looked around.

"-I think Miss Goldstein just needs a bit of room..."

Harry looked at Lily pointedly, who gave Jessie one last apologetic look and then went up stairs, followed closely by Jasmine and Terri.

Once Lily had gone, Harry turned to the rest of the room and said, "Now get out of here, you lot – you've all got a busy day tomorrow!"

The pure- and- half-blood first years still stood at the foot of the stairs giggled at having been addressed by the famous Harry Potter and then scuttled up the stairs, chattering amongst themselves about the events of the night.

When the room had cleared, Harry went over to Jessie, who had sunk back to the floor and was looking grateful that all the attention on her had dispersed.

"Thanks, Professor Potter," she said graciously, closing her eyes as the room began to swim around her again.

Harry smiled and said, "You won't be thanking me once I've told you you're going to be spending the night in the Hospital Wing."

"What?!"

"Al, if you please…"

*

Once Jessie had left for the Hospital Wing, escorted by an anxious-looking Al and an annoyed Leanne, Harry turned his attention to Rose.

"Now, Miss Weasley, why don't we go to my office and talk over why you were crying earlier?"

Rose rolled her eyes at the formal address now that they were in earshot of other students and the fact that she wasn't crying anymore and nodded.

"Ok, but can I have one of those Ginger Newt biscuits you always have on your desk?"

Harry grinned and led the way out of the portrait hole and up to his temporary new office.

*

"So, the reason you're upset is because Scorpius Malfoy is in love with Jessie?" Harry clarified.

"No! I'm not upset that he _loves_ her – or at least Lily _says_ that he does! No, I'm just… it hurts to think that he… I mean, he hasn't spoken to me in, like, over a year, and I used to be his best friend! And, what, now he's trying to hook up with one of _my_ friends? I mean, how insensitive can you get?!"

"How is he being insens-?"

"Because he's not even _talking_ to me and yet he'll be talking to Jessie _all_ the time and how am I meant to cope with that?! I mean, me and Scorpius were like _that _-"

Rose crossed her fingers.

"-and now we're _nothing! _And I don't even know why!"

Harry surveyed her best mates' daughter, thinking how very much she reminded him of them. The denial, the unaccountable anger…

"What happened the last time you spoke to him?" he asked, thinking there might be a clue in there as to why Scorpius had broken off their friendship.

Rose sighed.

"Well," she said, taking a deep breath, "It all started when we went to the End of Owls Ball…"

…

"_Rose! Hey, Rose!"_

_Rose turned around and smiled when she saw her best friend coming towards her._

_Her smile faltered, however, when she saw how angry he looked._

"_Scorpius, what-?"_

"This_," he hissed venomously, throwing something at her, "Belongs to you!"_

_Recoiling as the object came hurtling towards her face, Rose caught it and was stunned to see it was the silver friendship charm she'd given him in their second year._

"_What is-why is this broken?" she asked, holding the severed chain up in front of her. "Did you-did _you_ do this?"_

_Scorpius gave her a look of such pure hatred that she felt herself step back._

"_No," Scorpius spat, looking angrier than she'd ever seen him, "No, y_ou_ did that. Everything you've said, everything you've _done_!"_

"_Scorpius, I-"_

"_I don't want to be friends with you anymore, Rose Weasley! I can't even stand to _look_ at you!"_

_Rose could feel her eyes welling up with bewildered tears._

"_Scorpius, please, I don't understand," she began to sob, clutching the broken charm to her chest. "Why're you _being_ like this?!"_

_Scorpius gave her one, last, cold look, before saying, "Because I hate you."_

…

"…And that was the last time I ever spoke to him," finished Rose, her eyes still haunted by the memory of it. "Well, until today, when I had to sit with him in a carriage because…"

Rose faltered, not prepared to talk to her uncle about the things that had happened between her and Liam.

"…because there was nowhere else to sit," she concluded.

"Who started talking to whom first?" asked Harry, looking interested.

Rose looked confused.

"When?"

"Today, on the train."

"Oh," said Rose, frowning. "Well… he did."

Harry nodded, beginning to wonder if all was not, in fact, lost.

"Well, did he talk to you because, say, you were in his way? Or did he say something that would start a conversation?"

Rose thought for a moment and then said, "The latter… and he stood up for me when Carla Greengrass was being a bit-cow."

Harry smiled at her attempt at a save.

"Well then," he said, motioning that Rose should be getting off, "Do you think that _maybe_ Scorpius Malfoy doesn't hate you after all and that _maybe_ this year could be the year you get things back on track with him?"

Rose pondered this as she made her way down the spiral staircase and out into the corridor and smiled.

_Scorpius Malfoy_, she thought to herself as she avoided the water bomb that Peeves had attempted to drop on her, _get ready to become my best friend again_.

Little did she know that he had quite the opposite thing in mind…


	20. Lily The Knowledge

"I feel so awful."

Lily was sat on her four poster bed, staring at the blank stone wall opposite her.

Her friends, Terri and Jasmine, looked at each before saying simultaneously, "Lily, it wasn't your fault."

"How wasn't it?" cried Lily, looking away from the wall and staring at the pair of them incredulously. "I made Jessie faint! And not like, "Ooh, I feel a little light-headed faint," but proper eyes-rolled-back-into-her-head-collapse-dramatically-on-the-floor faint! And all because she can't handle the idea of Scorpius Malfoy being in love with her!"

Terri and Jasmine looked at each other somewhat sceptically.

"Lils, I'm not sure it was quite like that…" said Jasmine carefully, watching out for any sign of the famous Weasley anger making an appearance. "I think some of it may have been down to the amount of people swarmed around her, chattering about how Al was having sex with Leanne and-"

Lily, who had bent over the bed to grab her stress ball, bolted up right.

"He did _what?_"

"Oh, yeah," grinned Terri, trying hard not laugh at the look of shock on her best mate's face, "Al was shagging Leanne in the 7th Years' boys' dormitory. That's why no-one was going up there – because they were making so much noise!"

Lily stared at her, her mouth hanging open.

"_Al_ had _sex _with _Leanne_?" she repeated, looking both horror-struck and incredulous. And also somewhat amused. "No _way_!"

To Terri and Jasmine's great surprise, she bounded off the bed and started jumping around the room.

"Er, Lils… what are you doing?" asked Jasmine, looking concerned.

"I'm _laughing!_" she howled, as tears began to stream down her face.

"Er, why?" asked Terri, looking at Lily as though she'd gone nuts.

"Because it's _funny_!" she pointed out, shaking her head as she clutched her chest, still guffawing at the thought of Al _doing it_.

"I mean, _come on_," she said to Terri and Jasmine, who had remained seated and were regarding her doubtfully, "It's Al! Al who was all like, "Ooh, I'm not gonna have sex until I'm married" and "Ooh, not having sex now will make it more special!" What a hypocritical little-"

"Argh!"

Lily stopped her rant abruptly and looked at Jasmine in alarm.

"Wha-?"

"Oh my god, Lily – Chuck's in the paper!" cried Jasmine, looking ridiculously excited as she rushed over to the cabinet Lily was stood next to and grabbed the Daily Prophet that was sat on it.

"How on _earth_ did you see that from over here?" asked Terri as Lily squealed and followed Jasmine back over to the bed.

Jasmine ignored her, too busy ripping the paper open to page six.

"Oh my god…"

Terri leant over to see what they were looking at and then said in mock solemn, "Aw, shucks, Lily – it looks like you're all out of luck! Who would've thought Chuck Davis would be dating –"

"-Selena Marquez!" cried Lily, looking disgusted. "What would _Chuck_ want with a publicity whore like _her_?"

"Um," said Terri, raising her eyebrows at how devastated Jasmine was looking, "Fame, money, the chance to get off with a hot girl? Do I need to go on?"

"But if he wants all the stuff, why doesn't he go out with Lily?" exclaimed Jasmine, in despair. "Lily's famous, rich and hot!

"I know!" cried Lily, having torn the paper out of Jasmine's hands and examining the article in excruciating detail. "_Why_ won't my dad let me out clubbing?"

"Um, because you're not old enough?" ventured Terri, ducking as Lily threw the paper at her.

"Well, we'll see about that," said Lily, a determined look on her face.

"Now, who knows how to make polyjuice potion… within a week?"

**A/N: Hey guys, I know this is rrrreeeeaaaallllllyyyyy short and I haven't updated in months but I thought I'd post this to show that I'm now ready to start updating again.******

**I'm sorry it's been so long but I hope you still want to read the story!******

**Thank you for all your reviews!**


	21. Hugo and James The Men

"Well," said Hugo, crashing down on his four-poster, causing his nicely-made bed to instantly crease, "That was certainly a fun start to the year! I can't believe Al actually grew some balls and fu-"

"I know!" interrupted Razor, a look of wonderment on his face. "Wow-Al's not a virgin anymore!"

Hugo, realising this, suddenly felt very put out.

"Aw hell," he said, sitting up on his bed, looking annoyed. "Well that just sucks! If _Al_ can get laid then what the hell is wrong with us?"

"Erm," said Finch, who had just entered the room and was undoing his tie, "Maybe it's the fact that you're immature, a really quite disgusting eater and, oh yeah: you're fourteen!"

"So?" said Razor, looking confused.

"Yeah, so?" repeated Hugo, looking scandalised. "What's age got to do with it? We're men, Finch! We need the touch of a woman!"

Finch looked disgusted.

"You," he said to Hugo, shaking his head, "Appal me."

"Oh yeah," said Hugo, beginning to look angry. "Well how many girls have you shagged, huh, Finch? Yeah, that's right: none! You're just as much a loser as we are, so don't try and fucking lord it over us, thinking you're better than we are! Why, the most the action you've gotten recently is from Barrat!"

Finch turned white as a sheet when he heard this.

"W-what?" he choked, looking as though he were going to simultaneously throw up and faint. "What do you mean?"

Hugo looked at him like he was a nutter.

"I meant 'cause he beat us up, you psycho! Jesus, I didn't mean-that's just disgusting!"

Looking relieved, Finch nodded and stammered, "Y-yeah, that's why I was so like, you know… disgusted."

"Too right," said Hugo, looking solemn as he began to dig around in his trunk for the packet of biscuits he'd nicked from home whilst his mother wasn't looking. "Homos are fucking wrong. God, imagine having sex with-you know what, I can't even think about it, it makes wanna hurl."

"Yeah," nodded Razor, looking serious. "What man would choose another man over like, Fleur Delacour?"

"Dude, that's my aunt!"

"So, she's hot... Just like your mum!"

"Why you-"

As Hugo and Razor started wrestling each other, Finch made his way over to his bed, his mind whirring over what had just been said.

*

"_Man_ it feels good to be back here," said James, as he surveyed his brand new room, complete with a huge four-poster bed, ensuite bathroom, desk and personal owl box (for students' work).

"Hoo, hoo!" he said excitedly, spying the wrapped present sat in the middle of the bed. "Who's this from then?"

Performing a running dive, he landed on the bed with an 'oof' and began frantically tearing off the paper.

"Oh, sweet!" he said, pulling himself into sitting position and grinning at the 20 galleon cheque that had been sat on his favourite box of chocolates and the note that came with it.

_Dear James,_

_This money is partly a well-done gift for getting the job with Hagrid and partly to keep you afloat whilst you wait for your first pay-cheque._

_Please try and spend it wisely and for the love of God don't tell your father I gave it to you!_

_Lots of love_

_Mum_

_p.s. I am proud of you, you know. Just try not to mess it up!_

James laughed and put the cheque straight in his bed-side drawer.

He was just about to tuck into his chocolates when there was a frantic knock on the door.

"Who is it?" he yelled, feeling slightly annoyed that he'd been interrupted.

"It's Al!"

"Oh, sod off, will you!" he shouted back, not in the mood for whatever Al had to say.

"Please James, I… I need to talk to you."

Startled at Al's tone of voice, James stood up and went to the door.

Opening it, he swore when he saw Al's face.

"Christ almighty, what the hell's wrong with you?"

Al looked down at his feet before answering ashamedly, "I think I did something really stupid."

**A/N: I would just like to say I do not agree with Hugo and Razor's views on homosexuals.******

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter!:)**


	22. Al and Leanne The Loveless

"_So," Leanne said, "Do you faint a lot? Or is it just at inconvenient moments?"_

_"Leanne!" said Al, looking shocked at her brutal tone. "What the hell is wrong with-woah, Jessie, are you ok?"_

_Jessie, who had been walking unsteadily alongside Al had suddenly stumbled and grabbed onto his arm._

_Looking very white, Jessie nodded, though it looked as though she wanted to throw up._

_"I'm fine," she managed to say, before looking at Leanne and saying, "Leanne, I'm sorry I've ruined Al's and your night – believe me, it was the _last_ thing I thought I'd be doing this evening."_

_Taking a deep breath, obviously remembering the scene she'd stumbled upon a few minutes ago, she continued, "I'm sorry your first time got messed up."_

_Al, completely stunned, dropped her._

_"Ow! Al!"_

_"S-sorry," he stammered, bending down to help her up._

_As he grasped her hand, he looked directly at her; he was hurt to see she wouldn't even look at him properly, instead preferring to look at his feet._

_"Um, thanks," she said, still avoiding his eyes. "Look, the Hospital Wing's not far now; I can take it from here."_

_"Wh-Jessie-" Al began to say but he was interrupted by Leanne, who said, "Ok, well, thanks for the apology, Jessie – I hope you feel better. Come on Al."_

_Al, who really didn't want to leave Jessie on her own, tried to protest but was shut up instantly by the poisonous look Leanne gave him._

_"Ok, fine but Jessie…" Al had so much he wanted to say to her, so much he needed to tell her… but all he said was, "Look after yourself."_

_Jessie finally looked at him and when she did, Al wish she hadn't…_

"So, you reckon Jessie hates you?" clarified James, making sure he understood Al's story completely.

"Right," nodded Al, fiddling nervously with the edge of his glasses.

James punched him on the arm.

"Ow! James!"

"Stop messing around with your glasses, you look like a poof!"

Al was about to snap back at him but found he couldn't muster the energy to fight so sighed instead.

"What the hell have I done, James?" he asked, looking miserable.

"Finally got laid at least," replied James, digging into his box of chocolates and then offering Al one.

After a bit of deliberation, Al took one and began nibbling on it.

"Yeah," he said, between nibbles, "And where's the got me?"

"De-virginised?" suggested James, chewing on a piece of toffee chocolate. "A fuck buddy?"

"Hey!" said Al sharply. "Don't talk about Leanne that way!"

"Why not?" shrugged James, picking out another chocolate. "Sounds like she's being a bitch."

"Yes, well-" Al began, before hastily correcting himself. "I mean, she's being a bit off but that's probably just because of that fight she had with Jessie."

"Yeah, what was that all about, anyway?" asked James interestedly, gnawing off the chocolate from a chocolate nut. "She went schizo didn't she?"

"Well, 'schizo' might be a bit strong," pointed out Al, finishing off his chocolate. "But she did act a bit out of character. Normally she finds Jessie's jokes funny – they got on just fine on the train!"

"Maybe she's just jealous of how hot Jessie's got over the summer?" mused James, chomping on a piece of chocolate fudge. "I know I noticed!"

"WHAT?"

"Oh, come on Al," said James, looking at him with disdain. You cannot honestly tell me you haven't seen that arse!"

"I haven't!" exclaimed Al indignantly. "She just looks like the same old Jessie to me."

"Right, well when you next see her, make sure you give those geek-specks of yours a clean," said James, getting off of his bed. "Now, I want to go to sleep, so sod off please."

"James," said Al desperately, staying firmly on the bed. "I need you to help me figure this all out!"

"Look," said James impatiently, "I don't know what's going on with Leanne and, to be honest, I don't really care, but the thing with Jessie… look, just let her recover in the Hospital Wing tonight and then go see her tomorrow. She was probably just upset about her argument with Leanne, the fact you ditched her for the slag and that she caught you two shagging – well, almost. She just needs clarification that the two of you are still best buds and there's no hard feelings between her and Leanne. Now get lost."

As James closed the door on a slightly happier Al, he reflected that this big brother lark was more effort than it was worth.

But, he found to his surprise, he'd enjoyed his role tonight.

Oh God! Thought James, his eyes widening: I think I'm becoming a proper adult!

His dad would be so proud.


	23. The Potter and the Weasley Kids The New

After all the drama of the night before, the Potters and the Weasleys started their first day of the new year looking bleary eyed and irritable.

"Pass me the rolls," said Hugo bluntly, shovelling down a plate of sausages.

"Please?" said Finch, raising his eyebrows at his best friend.

"Yeah," said Hugo, digging into some eggs, "That too."

Shaking his head, Finch passed him the rolls just as Razor came barrelling into the Great Hall, his face serious.

"Arsehole alert, arsehole alert!"

Finch and Hugo looked round, Hugo's mouth still stuffed with eggs, and groaned.

"Oh, great," muttered Finch as Barrat and his cronies reached their table.

"What's up, losers?" asked Barrat, banging purposefully into Razor and causing him to put his arm in the butter dish.

Blentham and Archer laughed.

"Wow, your wit astounds me, Barrat," said Finch dryly, motioning to pick up a piece of toast.

Barrat smacked the toast out of his hand, which flew across the table and smacked Lily on the head.

"Ow!" she cried, looking round furiously. "Barrat, you sod, piss off to your own table!"

"Don't test me, Carr," spat Barrat, moving menacingly towards Finch, "'Cause I swear I'll-"

"Is something wrong here, Mr Barrat?"

Barrat looked round to see Harry standing behind him, a stern look on his face.

Glaring once more at Finch, Hugo and Razor, Barrat lifted his chin and said angrily, "No."

"No…?" asked Harry, raising his eyebrows.

Barrat narrowed his eyes.

"No, _Sir_," he growled, looking like he wanted to punch him.

"Very good," said Harry. "Now, why don't you head off to your own table, boys, and make sure you're properly fuelled up for your first day of term?"

Without another word, Barrat stormed off towards the Slytherin table, Blentham and Archer following behind.

Once they were out of ear shot, Harry bent down and said quietly to Hugo and his friends, "Please, guys, try and keep the peace – you've been back less than 24 hours!"

"In fairness, Harry, they did start it!"

"It's Professor Potter or Sir here, Hugo," corrected Harry, reaching forward and grabbing a slice of toast. "Now, carry on with your breakfast – Professor McGonagall will be round with your new timetables soon."

As Harry walked off, munching on his toast, Hugo looked round at his mates and said, "God, can you believe we actually used to get _on _with Barrat, Blentham and Archer?"

Razor shook his head.

"Nope."

Hugo looked at Finch.

"What's it like, still having to live next door to him when you're like, mortal enemies?"

Finch coloured slightly.

"It's… different."

"I'll say," said Hugo, tucking into his roll. "Glad it's you and not me. I think I would've killed him by now!"

*

"Son of a-" muttered Lily angrily, brushing crumbs out of her hair. "I swear I'll curse that Slytherin-slime-bag to high heaven the next time I see him!"

"At least it didn't have butter on it," pointed out Terri, eating a bowl of porridge. "That would've been shit."

"Totally," agreed Jasmine, checking her reflection on the back of a spoon.

Suddenly, she dropped the spoon with a clatter.

"Oh my God!" she practically screamed, grabbing Lily's arm in a vice-like grip. "Chuck Davis just walked in!"

Lily swung round so fast she cricked her neck.

"Ow!"

Rubbing her neck, she scowled.

"Oh, yeah, that's right Michaela, you slag, you just simper so he sits right down next you!"

"Oooh, oooh, he's looking over here!" hissed Jasmine, looking excited.

"Oh God!"

Lily dived down under the table, smacking her head in the process.

"Owww!"

"Lily, what _are_ you doing?" asked Terri, looking down at her friend. "He's not even looking this way anymore!"

"He's not? Are you sure."

"Yes!" said Terri and Jasmine, though in different tones; Jasmine sounded disappointed whereas Terri just seemed annoyed.

"Ok, good," said Lily, looking relieved. "Help a girl up, would ya?"

As Terri and Jasmine pulled Lily to table height, Rose approached the table.

"Lily? What are you doing…?"

"She was hiding," said Terri bluntly, as Lily took her place back on the bench, "From Chuck Davis."

"Oooh," said Rose excitedly, taking a seat next to Jasmine. "Does he fancy you, then?"

"I wish," muttered Lily, taking a bite from her croissant.

"So," said Terri, finishing up her porridge. "Any new developments between you and Malfoy?"

Rose went red.

"No! Plus, he's more interested in Jessie than becoming friends with me, right?"

She looked at Lily.

Lily looked at her friends and then said, "Well…"

Lily, Terri and Jasmine had decided, after much discussion, that actually, maybe Scorpius didn't fancy Jessie after-all and might in fact just have been being nice.

"Yeah, we don't think that anymore," said Lily bluntly, tearing another piece of pastry from her croissant. "We reckon he was just being nice, turned over a new leaf or something."

Rose looked relieved.

"Oh. Oh, well good, right? I mean, not that I would've cared, you know, if they'd gotten together, it just would've been like, awkward if he'd gone out with her. Right?"

"Right," echoed Lily, Terri and Jasmine.

When Rose turned to greet Al, however, they looked at each other and all mouthed 'Yeah, right!'

"Hey, Al," said Rose, getting the others to scoot up so he could fit on the bench. "How's Jessie?"

"I don't know," he replied, looking troubled. "When I went to see her in the Hospital Wing this morning she'd already left."

"In fairness, she did only faint," pointed out Lily, stuffing the rest of her croissant in her mouth. "She didn't whack her head or anything, so far as I saw, so she probably didn't need to stay that long."

Al suddenly froze, his eyes the size of dinner plates.

"Oh my God!" he cried, startling a little Hufflepuff who was walking by him. "What if she didn't even make it to the Hospital Wing? What if something happened to her on the way?"

"Oh my God, calm down you loser!" said a voice from behind him. "I'm fine!"

Al whipped around and was so pleased to see Jessie that he found himself stumbling over the bench and grabbing her in a bear hug.

"Wow, ok," said Jessie in a muffled voice. "It's good to see you too, Al!"

Al let her go and looked down at her.

"I'm so sorry, Jessie," he said seriously, making sure he looked her right in the eyes. "I don't ever want to fight with you again! If that's even what we were doing! I don't know, I just want things to be ok again!"

Jessie observed him for what felt like a long time but what was actually for only a few seconds and then smiled.

"Of course we're good, Al, you big dope! Last night was just… weird. Emotions were running high, James was sat at the Staff Table – it was all kinds of crazy! Let's just agree to forget about it, ok?"

Al nodded.

"Ok."

Jessie smiled again, took a seat and grabbed a banana, just as McGonagall came round to pass out their time tables.

"Here you go, Potter, Goldstein, Weasley," she said to Al, Jessie and Rose. "You've all got Care of Magical Creatures first thing, so I suggest you get yourselves moving or you'll be late!"

The trio hastened to finish their breakfasts and then made their way out of the Great Hall and into the grounds.

"So," said Rose, as they passed the Greenhouses and made their way down the slope to Hagrid's cabin, "How're you and Leanne today? You know, after last night…"

Al felt himself tense, but tried to answer calmly.

"Fine," he said, avoiding his friends' eyes.

Rose, noticing his discomfort, wisely dropped the subject.

"Oooh, there's James!" she said instead.

Al, looking up, couldn't help but snort at his brother's attire.

"Good God, is that _dragon _hide he's wearing!"

"Looks like it," replied Jessie, also snorting.

"Ooh, I guess that means we're doing something dangerous," said Rose, looking slightly nervous.

"Brilliant!" said Al and Jessie at the same.

"Jinx!" they both cried.

Rose, shaking her head, left her laughing friends to it and made her way to the group alone.

She'd just stopped with a huddle of other Gryffindors when a voice behind her nearly gave her a heart attack.

"Hey, Rose," said Scorpius Malfoy, walking up beside her. "Mind if I join you?"

**A/N: Yay, a slightly longer chapter! Things are really starting to kick into swing now, so I hope you're enjoying it!**


	24. The Surprise

"What?"

Rose hadn't meant to sound so blunt but she was in shock.

Was Scorpius Malfoy really asking if he could stand next to _her_?

Well, he was already next to her but still! He was asking her permission to stay there!

"Can I stand here?" Scorpius replied calmly, seemingly oblivious to Rose's rude tone.

"Um," she stammered, looking wildly around for Jessie and Al, who were both staring in shock, their eyes flitting between her and Scorpius like they were watching a game of Quidditch.

"Rose?" prompted Scorpius, following her gaze.

Al and Jessie, noticing Scorpius looking at them, both jumped and began gabbing to each other at a mile a minute.

"You know what," said Scorpius, beginning to move away from Rose, "Never mind."

"No, wait!"

Scorpius stopped and looked at Rose, who looked surprised at her outburst.

"I mean," she tried again, "You can stay. Here. It's fine with me."

A peculiar look flitted across Scorpius' face.

"Thank you," he said politely, resuming his position next to Rose.

"So how are-good grief, _is that_ _James Potter_?" he gasped.

"Oh," said Rose, looking over to where Scorpius was staring, his mouth agape. "Yeah, it is. He's Hagrid's new assistant."

"Wow," Scorpius whistled, shaking his head. "Your uncle must have been on crack when he thought up that idea."

Rose couldn't help laughing and found herself starting to relax.

Relax, that was, until James opened his mouth and said, "Right, you ugly lot, Hagrid's not here today so you'll be stuck with me as your teacher. Everyone ready to die?"

"Oh, God," said Rose, staring at James with wide eyes. "I think this is actually the end!"

"I wouldn't bet on it," Scorpius said, pointing at something behind Rose's head. "Looks like daddy's not as stupid as I thought."

"Oh, crap," everyone heard James mutter.

"Right," said Harry, walking up to stand next to his son. "Let's see what you've got, Professor Potter."

*

"Wow," said Jessie, as she and Al made their way up to the castle after what had to have been the most strained Care of Magical Creatures class they'd ever attended. "I've never seen James look so… red."

"Yeah, I think dad might've taken the whole 'overseeing' thing a little too far," agreed Al, as they entered the Entrance Hall. "Especially when he took him for a 'little chat' after he suggested that if Malacky didn't pick up that Spoluck egg then he'd crack it over his head!"

"In fairness, Malacky did actually do what he was told," pointed out Jessie.

"Yeah," mused Al, before saying, "Hey, what was that whole thing with Rose and Scorpius about, huh?"

"I dunno," said Jessie, as they made their way down to the dungeons for Potions class, "But thank God no one's going on about him liking me anymore!"

"What?"

*

"So, um," said Rose, sounding slightly awkward as she and Scorpius reached the Grand Staircase, "What do you have now?"

"Charms," replied Scorpius, checking his watch.

Rose felt her heart do a funny flip.

"Oh," she said, trying to sound nonchalant, "Me, too."

"Oh, really?" said Scorpius, his eyebrows raised. "Well, we'd better get a move on otherwise we'll be late."

As they dashed up the stairs, they passed Hugo, Razor and Finch coming down.

"Cor," Hugo was saying, his eyes widening for an instant as he passed Rose and Scorpius, giving his sister a small nod, "Did you see Heather Monroe's tits? They're huge!"

Finch rolled his eyes and Razor said excitedly, "I know! I wouldn't mind getting her number!"

Finch's face scrunched up in disgust.

"Razor, you've been in the same class as her for three years!" he cried, before continuing, "In fact, what the hell am I talking about: she's in Gryffindor!"

"So?"

"I think I might actually kill myself," said Finch, shaking his head in despair as they headed out to the greenhouses.

"You have to admit, though," said Hugo, as they reached Herbology, "You wouldn't say no if she asked you to stuff your face between them, would you?"

Finch just smiled and put on his dragon-hide gloves.

**A/N: So, so short, I know, I'm sorry! But it's really just setting up for the next chapter, where you'll get to know a little more about why Scorpius and Rose stopped being friends, how Jessie fairs when she meets up with Leanne and how James felt about how his first day went!**


	25. The Past

Scorpius and Rose reached the Charms classroom with five minutes to spare.

Rose went in first, holding the door open for Scorpius.

"Thank you," he said with a smile.

Rose felt her face heat up as she closed the door behind them.

Why? She thought, mentally kicking herself. Why am I blushing? It's just _Scorpius_.

"Rose?"

She practically jumped out of her skin as a hand gripped her shoulder.

Whirling round, she was surprised to see Nathan Shacklebolt standing where Scorpius had been a second ago.

"Oh, hi Nathan," she said, looking confusedly around for Scorpius.

She was stunned to see him at the other side of the room, idly chatting to-

"Hayley Parkinson!" spat Rose angrily, completely forgetting about Nathan, who was staring at her with a worried expression on his face.

"Um," Nathan began, looking over at Scorpius and Hayley, the latter of whom had just placed a hand on Scorpius' arm, "Yeah – she and Scorpius were sort of dating over the summer. Why, is there something going on between you and him?"

"No," Rose found herself snapping, "There is _definitely_ nothing going on between me and Scorpius Malfoy."

*

"Look, for the thousandth time: I do not like Scorpius Malfoy!" cried Jessie as they reached the dungeons. "And nor does he like me – it's just Lily being dumber than a… really dumb thing! Now get a grip, Potter!"

Al wasn't finished though: "Yeah, but _why_ does she think that?"

Jessie almost screamed with frustration as she shoved the door to the Potions dungeon open and stormed in.

"Because she's Lily! She'd say _James_ was in love with me if she ever saw him being nice to me!"

"Yeah, but-wait, what was that about James being in love with you?"

"Al!"

Al stammered to a stop as he looked round to see his girlfriend coming towards them.

"Jessie," Leanne nodded. Jessie nodded politely back, discreetly moving herself round to the other side of the table, so as not to interfere with Al and Leanne's conversation.

"Hey," Al smiled at his girlfriend, giving her a tentative kiss on the cheek. "You alright?"

"Yeah," Leanne began to say, "I-oh, bloody hell!"

Al was slightly stunned at his girlfriend's abrupt outburst and was about to ask what the matter was when he realised her gaze wasn't actually on him but the door behind him.

Looking round, he saw a guy around his age he didn't recognise talking to Potions' Professor Thornberry, who was currently pointing at-

"Jessie, could you come here a moment?"

Jessie looked around at Professor Thornberry in surprise, wondering what he could possibly want with her.

After all, she'd been in the room less than five minutes and not even lit a fire under her cauldron yet, so she'd definitely not had enough time to melt anything!

"Yes, sir?" she replied, duly walking over to him and the new guy.

"Jessie, I'd like to introduce you to Mark Bass – he's a new student at Hogwarts, a transfer from America."

Jessie smiled kindly at Mark, who grinned back at her.

"Hey, how you doing?"

"Fine thanks," replied Jessie, grinning at his accent. "Cool accent, by the way."

"Thanks," said Mark, as Professor Thornberry continued: "Jessie, I'd like you to be Mark's guide whilst he's here. I trust that's alright with you?"

"Sure thing!" grinned Jessie, signalling to Mark where her desk was. "This way, buddy."

Professor Thornberry nodded, apparently satisfied, and made his way to the front of the classroom whilst Mark took up residence at Jessie's desk.

As Jessie and Mark began to chatter about America and Potions, Al couldn't help feeling slightly rejected.

Suddenly remembering Leanne's outburst, he turned back to her and said, "What was with the swearing before?"

Leanne, who too had been staring at Jessie and Mark, jumped, an odd blush creeping across her face.

"O-oh," she stammered, looking away from them and at Al, "He's just in my house and he's seems like such a pompous arse."

Al looked back over at Jessie and Mark, the latter of whom was now telling Jessie about how he used to be top of Potions in his school in America because the teacher had had a crush on him and couldn't help agreeing.


	26. The New Men

"Son of a mother fucking bitch," growled James angrily, slamming his bedroom door shut as hard as he could behind him.

Fuming, he pulled his teachers' robes over his head and pulled on a pair of jeans and t-shirt.

Grabbing his mobile and wallet from his bedside table, he pocketed it and stormed back out of the room.

Taking all the secret passageways he knew, so as to avoid his interfering father, he found himself in the Entrance Hall in no time and quickly hurried out of the front door.

Skirting around all the students coming in for lunch, he finally made it to the front gates.

After muttering the password that only the staff knew the gates opened and he made his bid for freedom.

A small time later he reached Hogsmeade and pulled out his mobile phone.

Swearing as he saw the signal bar on zero, he shoved it angrily back in his pocket and took his wallet out instead.

Checking how much money he had, he saw he possessed enough to get nicely pissed so made his way to the Hog's Head, thinking there wouldn't be any Hogwarts students hanging out there even though the Hogsmeade rule had changed so that sixth and seventh years could come in during free periods, up until 8pm.

However, just as he'd ordered his first of what he planned to be many firewhiskys, he was surprised to hear his brother's voice coming from the back room.

"Yeah, thanks very much mate, can't believe none of us know how to fix bleeding wounds! Good job you have the muggle first aid kit!"

Al entered the bar a moment later, clutching a green box with a big white cross on it.

He stopped when he saw James sat at the bar, the firewhisky that had been in his glass a moment ago already gone.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" he asked bluntly.

James raised his eyebrows and reached behind the bar for the bottle of whisky.

Pouring himself another drink and throwing a few sickles into a glass jar beside the till, he took a sip and then said, "Getting pissed. What about you? What's the box for?"

"Jessie," said Al, suddenly remembering he was actually meant to be going somewhere. Making his way towards the stairs, he continued, "She's managed to cut herself on a nail sticking out of one of the walls and she's bleeding."

James found himself surprisingly concerned for his brother's best friend.

Setting his half full glass down, he got up and followed his brother up the stairs.

Once at the top, James turned a corner and saw Al bending down next to Jessie, whose face was screwed up in pain, a guy James didn't know holding what looked to be a piece of wadded up tissue against her lower leg.

Behind her sat Leanne, not actually doing anything but glaring between Jessie and the randomer with a look of annoyance on her face.

"Wow," James said, as Jessie looked up and gave him a weak smile, "Trust you to hurt yourself on what's probably the smallest and most unlikely thing that could've injured you in this building."

"Shut up James," said Al over his shoulder, as he fought to open the first aid box.

"Here," said the guy James didn't know, "Let me."

He reached out for the box, but Al moved it out of his reach, with a sharp, "No thanks, I've got it."

The guy held up a hand and said, "No probs, mate, it's just she's bleeding quite a lot and this bit of Kleenex isn't going to last for much longer."

Al glared at him and with one final tug the box burst open, showering them all in bandages and antiseptic wipes.

"Smooth," commented James, bending down and gathering up the plasters that were surrounding him.

"Fuck off," said Al, looking simultaneously furious and mortified.

"I could give you detention for that, Al, swearing at a teacher," said James as he moved to put the plasters back in the box.

"Like I give a shit," said Al furiously as he tore the wrapper off a pack of bandages.

"Er, I don't mean to sound rude or interfering here," said the randomer, "But don't you think we should clean the wound first?"

James waited for Al to explode.

* * *

As her brothers attended to Jessie's wound, Lily was making her way out of the Great Hall after wolfing down three slices of garlic bread and a massive bowl of pasta.

Just as she reached the doors, a voice behind her called, "Hey, wait up!"

Looking round, she felt her heart stop.

Chuck Davis was jogging towards her, his gorgeous face beautifully highlighted in the midday sun.

Lily looked behind her, convinced he couldn't possibly be speaking to her.

When all she saw was wooden doors, she began to feel hopeful.

Turning back just as Chuck reached her, she said, "Um, are you speaking to me?"

He grinned a heartbreaking grin, one that turned her legs to jelly and filled her stomach with butterflies.

"Of course," he laughed, reaching behind her to push the doors open, "Who else would I be talking to?"

Lily felt herself turn red.

"Well…" she began, but was interrupted by Chuck who said, "Wow, they really made that bread garlicky, huh? I can smell it all the way over here!"

Lily felt her heart stop again but this time, it wasn't for anything good.

Eyes widening, she remembered the lunch she'd just consumed.

Oh my _god_! She thought hysterically, frantically searching her pockets for gum. Chuck Davis _cannot_ be speaking to me for the first time _ever_ when I smell like _this_!

Chuck was still talking, apparently oblivious to Lily's internal nightmare.

"-I mean, Hogwarts does have some of the best food here but man can it make you pile on the pounds! You know what I mean?"

He looked at Lily expectantly.

Still keeping her mouth firmly close, she made a noise of agreement just as her hand closed over a packet of mints.

Completely overwhelmed with gratitude that she'd developed a mint addiction by the time she was three, she covertly slipped one into her mouth.

"Anyway," Chuck was saying, "I haven't properly introduced myself: I'm Chuck Davis."

Oh, I know who you are, thought Lily as she practically melted under his gaze.

"Lily," she said, giving him her most dazzling smile, "Lily Potter."

"Yeah," said Chuck, as they made their way down to Potions, "I can't believe I didn't realise that last year!"

Lily wasn't sure whether to take this as a compliment or not but decided to keep smiling anyway.

"I was quite quiet, in fairness to you," she replied, trying to make him feel better. "I mean, the only time we kind of talked was when I accidentally dropped Arachnid eggs on your new shoes!

"Oh, that was you?" he said, looking suddenly enlightened. "Sorry, I didn't even realise!"

Trying not to feel severely put out, Lily gave a little laugh and said, "Yeah, sorry about that."

"God, those shoes were ruined!" said Chuck, shaking his head sadly. "Had a date that night, too."

Lily could feel herself starting to get pissed off.

Was her dream man actually a bit of a tosser?

Chuck, obviously noticing her less-than-impressed facial expression, suddenly said, "Oh, not that I'm having a go! I mean, really, I should never have worn them to class. Bit of an idiot really."

Lily felt herself mollified slightly and found her wedding fantasies starting to return.

"I am sorry," she said again, trying to get her flirt on.

She needn't have worried though.

Just as the pair of them reached the Potions dungeon, Chuck turned to her and said, "No worries – you can take me out tomorrow night to make up for it!"

Slightly stunned and unsure whether to be pleased or offended, Lily forced herself to smile and say, "Sure thing! Six o'clock sound good to you?"

"Definitely," nodded Chuck as they went inside. "But I warn you – I have expensive taste!"

She grimaced slightly as she took her place at her desk.

Well, she thought, not entirely happily, It's a start.

**A/N: What do you guys think of Chuck and Mark?**


	27. The Change

"So, tell me again why you guys are here?" asked James as he and Mark helped a limping Jessie down the lane towards Hogwarts.

Al, already pissed off that Mark had swooped in to help James get Jessie up before he'd had a chance, felt like smacking James around the head.

"I already told you, we're here to show Mark around!" he cried, balling his hands into fists whilst simultaneously imagining kicking both James and Mark in the balls.

"That's why I said _again_."

Jessie, noticing Al's face turning redder by the second, said quickly, "Did you enjoy yourself, Mark?"

Mark opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by Leanne, who said, somewhat, snidely, "Well, he didn't exactly get much chance to look around, did he Jessie? Thanks to your encounter with that nail!"

Jessie smiled.

"Well, I'll just have to bring him back another time, won't I?" she said, her eyes lighting up. Turning to Mark, she continued, "Hey Mark, how do you feel about coming out with me tomorrow afternoon? Get a proper look around? I promise I'll keep any eye-out for rogue pieces of metal intent on injuring me!"

Mark grinned, oblivious to the reaction Jessie's invitation had elicited in their companions.

Leanne looked, for some unexplainable reason, furious, Al looked majorly pissed off and James just looked oddly blank.

"Sure thing, doll, you can take me out!" laughed Mark, clapping Jessie on the shoulder, causing her to stumble forward slightly, dragging James downwards.

"Oi!" said James, righting himself. "Stop trying to get me on my back, Goldstein!"

"Oh for God's sake," spat Leanne, looking disgusted, "Would you guys all stop thinking with your dicks and leave Jessie alone – I want to get home!"

"Alright, Miss Bossy," said James, dragging Jessie and Mark forward. "You heard her guys, let's get moving!"

As Jessie and Mark stumbled along, Leanne caught Al's eye and said coldly, "And that goes for you, too, Al. Don't think I don't see it because I do. You're just lucky I'm tolerable!"

With that, she strode off, leaving Al gaping in the dust.

* * *

"Girls, I'm sorry to have to tell you this but... I think Chuck might be a bit of a twat."

"No!"

Terri and Jasmine were open-mouthed with shock.

"What do you mean, you think he's a twat?" cried Jasmine, looking horrified. "He's Chuck!"

"Yes but apparently he's not the Chuck we thought he was," said Lily, looking downcast.

She told them about what had happened before Potions class, careful to include every single rude or insulting thing he'd said.

When she'd finished, Terri said, "Wow, he does sound a twat. Ditch him, Lil, he's not worth it."

"No!" gasped Jasmine, her eyes widening. "You can't do that, Lil! You love him!"

"Do I though?" asked Lily, raising her eyebrows. "Or do I love the image I had of him?"

"Image," said Terri bluntly. "Reality can be a harsh blow, Jas."

"But-"

"Look, Jas," cut in Lily, with a sigh, "I'll go out with him tomorrow – pay for him and all – and then see what I think, OK?"

Jasmine looked as though she wanted to argue the case more, but, after a look from Terri, she exhaled loudly and said meekly, "OK, then. But make sure you be nice!"

"God, why don't _you_ go out with him?" said Terri, as Lily sniggered at the alarmed look on Jas's face.

* * *

After a rather tame Charms lesson, during which she had spent most of her time chatting to Nathan about her summer, Rose was feeling quite relaxed.

She had managed to choose a desk two rows in front of Scorpius and Haley, meaning she could only see him if she twisted round and looked behind her.

This suited Rose just fine.

As she left the Charms classroom, laughing at something Nathan had told her, she found her bubble of calm burst by two rather unwelcome sights: Liam and Carla.

"Well, well, well," sneered Carla, eyeing Rose and Nathan with a nasty glint in her eye, "It didn't take you long to move on from my cousin, did it? Gone to the dark side I see!"

"Why you-"

Nathan went to lunge at Carla, his fury at her blatant racism clouding his judgement.

"Nathan, don't!" cried Rose, grabbing him in an attempt to stop him doing some he'd regret. "She's not worth it! Stop it!"

By this point, the rest of the class were out of the classroom and looking to see what all the commotion was about.

"What the fuck, man!" spat Liam, stepping in front of a smirking Carla. "Going to hit a girl! What's wrong with you?"

"Alright, why don't we all just calm down," said Scorpius, going to stand between Nathan and Liam, after managing to push his way through the baying crowd.

"This has nothing to do with you, Malfoy!" snapped Rose, glaring at him, her grip still tight on Nathan.

"I think he might find it does," commented Carla, laying a hand on Liam's shoulder. "Come on Liam, let's leave these losers to it."

"Shacklebolt," she added, as they walked past Nathan, who was still looking furious, "Don't even bother with Weasley – she's never going to want you when she can have someone from the real dark side!"

"Why you-"

It was Rose's turn to lunge at Carla but instead of Nathan grabbing her, it was Scorpius, who caught her around the middle as she went to slap his cousin.

"What on _earth _is going on here?" boomed a voice suddenly.

Everyone looked around to see Harry striding towards them, a thunderous look on his face.

"Oh, Professor Potter!" simpered Carla, rushing towards him. "Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy are fighting in the halls! When I tried to stop them they turned on me!"

"WHAT?" yelled Rose and Scorpius simultaneously, Scorpius's arms still around her waist.

Rose, realising this, yanked his hands off her.

"Ow! Geez, Weasley! Wanna pull any harder!" snarled Scorpius, rubbing his arm.

"Alright, alright!" shouted Harry, as the crowd surrounding them started to chatter loudly about the unfolding drama. "Everyone who's not Rose Weasley or Scorpius Malfoy, move along! That goes for you, too, Shacklebolt!"

Once everyone had dispersed, Harry turned to Rose and Scorpius and said, "You both have detention, tomorrow night at seven. Be there or face my wrath. Remember, I did rid the world of Voldemort."

As Rose rolled her eyes at her uncle, she couldn't help but feel a little thrill at the idea of spending an evening alone with Scorpius.

But that was a thrill of fear right?

Nothing else.

Right?

**A/N: It's all hotting up! What do you guys think about all the drama?**


	28. The Clue

"Alright, class!" cried Neville, feeling relieved that he'd managed to get through his whole DADA class without incident. "Thank you very much for being so understanding about Professor Carmel's absence. Mr Weasley, if you could stay behind; everybody else, thank you very much!"

As the rest of the class stood up and began to disperse, Hugo looked round at Finch and Razor, fear in his eyes.

"What did I do?" he asked worriedly, wracking his brains for any mischief he'd been up to in the last hour.

When he came up with nothing, he began to panic.

"Oh Merlin, do you think they found out I cheated last year?" he whispered to his friends.

Finch smacked him around the head at this.

"Shut up, you idiot!" he hissed, looking scandalised. "If they find out you cheated off me, they'll fail me too!"

"Mr Weasley?" called Neville, his expression unreadable. "If you could come here, please!"

Gulping, Hugo got up from his seat and made his way to the front of the class.

"Y-yes, Sir?" he said, rubbing his sweating palms on his trousers.

"Hugo, I've been noticing that your DADA work is somewhat… lacking in depth. You're good at putting down the facts but you seem to find it difficult to elaborate-"

"Are you giving me detention?" asked Hugo, looking anxious.

"No! No," laughed Neville, patting him on the shoulder, "I'm just going to tell you that I've decided to assign you to one of the best written performers in the class, to see if he can help you make your good essays into great ones."

Hugo raised his eyebrows.

"Really?" he asked, glancing over at his mates, who were trying and failing to look as though they weren't listening to every word that was being said. "And who would I be ass-ass… put with?"

"Ah, Mr Barrat, right on time!" cried Neville, looking over Hugo's shoulder.

There was a crashing sound as Finch knocked the Foe-Glass they'd been using during class onto the floor.

"Shit!" he cried, as the glass smashed everywhere. "Professor, I'm so sorry!"

Neville grimaced.

"So close," he muttered, as he waved his wand and the glass repaired itself.

"Not to worry, Mr Finch, just try and be a bit more careful next time!" Neville continued, "Now, as I was saying, Hugo, Holland will be your tutor for the next few weeks, just to see if we can get you up to scratch."

"_Barrat's_ my tutor?" said Hugo disbelievingly.

"Yes," frowned Neville, "Is that going to be a problem?"

"Well-" began Hugo.

"Excuse me, Professor," piped up Finch, who was now making his way to the front of the room, "But, if Barrat's tutoring Hugo, does that mean they're going to be somewhere… _alone_?"

"What're you insinuating, Carr, that Weasley and I are gonna be some kind of _fags_?" spat Barrat, looking livid.

"Now, now, boys!" cried Neville, as Finch began to square up to Barrat. "No one's saying anything of the kind, so why don't we all just calm down! Mr Carr, I think it's wise you leave us."

Finch gave Barrat one final glare before storming out of the room.

"Hey, Finch! You forgot your stuff!" yelled Razor, grabbing their bags and running after him.

"Right," said Neville, dabbing at his forehead with a handkerchief as the door slammed close behind Razor, "Now that we've got some peace, I'll ask you again, Hugo: are you going to be able to work with Mr Holland?"

Hugo glanced at Barrat, who was staring daggers at him, then at his feet.

"I 'spose so," he muttered unhappily, stubbing the toe of his shoe into the floor.

"Brilliant!" said Neville brightly. "Arrange a time that's good for the both of you to meet up – I suggest you work on last year's essay question."

As Neville packed up his briefcase and Barrat slinked out of the room, Hugo couldn't help but feel he'd just made a very big mistake.

* * *

Once Jessie had been dropped off at the Hospital Wing, James decided to make his way to dinner.

He was waylaid, however, by a very irritated looking Sienna.

"James!" she cried, blocking his way. "Did I just see you with your arms around Jessie Goldstein?"

"Number one, it's Professor Potter," James pointed out, feeling annoyed at her interruption to what was likely to be a very good meal, "And two, no I did not have my arms around Miss Goldstein – I was merely helping her to the Hospital Wing."

"She said you couldn't have relationships with students!" snapped Sienna, looking both hurt and angry. "She said that's why we couldn't be together!"

James was one hundred per cent sure that there had been no chance of he and Sienna ever getting together, teacher or not, but decided to go along with it.

"Yes she did," he said, trying to sound calm and understanding, "And she was right."

"But you had your arms around her!"

"No," said James, his teeth beginning to grit. "She was injured, I was helping. Now I really need to get to a dinner meeting with one of the professors, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut this conversation short. See you in class, Miss Butler."

He stepped around a furious Sienna and made his way hurriedly to the Great Hall.

As he reached the door, he glanced over his shoulder and was unnerved to see that she was watching him.

Wow, he thought as he went inside, that girl gets creepier every year.

* * *

"Jessie! Where have you been?"

Jessie nearly had a heart attack as she opened the bedroom door.

"Merlin! Rose! You nearly killed me!" she gasped, holding a hand against her hammering heart. "What'd you do that for?"

"Jessie, you are _never_ going to believe what's happened!" cried Rose, her eyes shining with amazement.

"Scorpius Malfoy asked you out?" asked Jessie, trying to get back at Rose for scaring her.

"No!" said Rose, looking annoyed as Jessie put her bag down on her bed and pulled out a copy of Witch Weekly. "But I am going to be spending tomorrow evening with him…"

"What?" Jessie yelled, looking up so fast from her magazine that she cricked her neck. "You're going on a date?"

"No! Merlin, Jessie, can't two people just be friends?"

"So he asked you out as friends?" asked Jessie, looking excited.

Rose looked at her coldly.

"Don't be silly."

"Well then what?" cried Jessie, starting to get irritated at all the suspense.

"Scorpius and I…"

"Yes?"

"Have detention tomorrow night!"

"You've got-what?" repeated Jessie, as she visibly deflated.

"A detention!" exclaimed Rose, feeling slightly disappointed at her friend's somewhat lacklustre response. "Just the two of us! Together! Do you know what that means?"

"It's going to be a very quiet couple of hours?" asked Jessie, raising her eyebrows.

Rose glared at her.

"No. It means I can finally get the chance to talk to him about what happened last year!"


	29. The Twist

The next day, all of the Potter and the Weasley Kids woke up with feelings of anticipation, ranging from delight to dread.

James was excited because he got to teach a class without his dad's interference; admittedly, it was a class of First Years, and they were studying flobberworms, but James didn't care – today spelt F.R.E.E.D.O.M.

Al awoke with knots of dread in his stomach but had no idea why they were there.

Maybe if he just popped into Hogsmeade with Leanne, he'd feel better about Jessie going alone with Mark; afterall, he had to check she was safe with that arrogant, self-obsessed twat, didn't he?

Rose had had very little sleep, having been overcome with excitement and dread at the idea of spending the afternoon with Scorpius.

Jessie was already up, planning what she was going to wear on her re-trip with Mark. She wanted to make an impression – just not necessarily on him…

Hugo wasn't actually feeling anything – he was still fast asleep, sprawled across his bed with the duvet tangled between his legs, his mouth hanging open.

However, Finch was sat up in his bed, staring at Hugo with a deep look of worry on his face.

Lily had already made her way down to breakfast, hoping to avoid the man she was meant to be treating to dinner later that day; she wasn't sure if she could stand him for any longer than necessary to repay her debt.

Oh, how times have changed, she thought sadly, spooning porridge into a bowl and adding apples and raisins.

"Oh, buck up, Potter!" said Terri, looking at her friend's downcast expression with exasperation. "He might not be that much of a dick today – Ali Wallace told me she saw him sneaking into his dormitory with some slag from Slytherin last night, so he'll be less on edge for sure."

Lily dropped her spoon with a clatter, porridge spattering everyone within a two-metre ranging.

"He did _what_?" she cried, looking livid. "He screwed some girl last night and is now expecting me to take him to dinner? Well he can sod _right_ off!"

"Oh, Terri, why did you tell her?" squealed Jas, looking furiously at Terri, who was flicking bits of porridge off of her robes. "I _told_ you not to!"

Lily raised her eyebrows in disbelief.

"You what?" she screeched at her, looking murderous. "You were seriously gonna let me go on a date with a guy who is quite _blatantly_ using me?

"Well, I tell you what, _Jasmine_, you take your fucking selfish attitude, shove it up your arse, and then get Chuck to pull it out for you whilst _you_ treat him to dinner with your daddy's wizi-card!"

With that, Lily swung her legs over the bench and stormed out of the Great Hall, aiming a well-deserved punch at Chuck, who had had the great misfortune to come into the Great Hall at that exact moment.  
As Lily kicked the door with so much force it made all the breakfast bowls shake, Jasmine burst into tears, Terri rolled her eyes, and Chuck collapsed onto the floor, spluttering as he clutched his stomach.

"Well," said Terri, as she passed a hysterical Jasmine a napkin, "This just got fucking complicated. Maybe I should ask Rose how she dealt with her massive bust-up with Malfoy.

"Oh, wait…"

* * *

"Jessie!"

She had just stuffed a slice of toast in her mouth when she heard James shouting at her from over by the staff table.

"M-what?" she mumble-shouted at him.

Swallowing, she yelled, "Come here!"

James rolled his eyes.

"You know," he said loudly, as he made his way towards her, "I could give you detention for treating me so disrespectfully. I am your teacher and-"

"Shut up, James," said Jessie, who wasn't even bothering to listen to him, "You know none of us care if you're our teacher or not – you're too much like yourself for us to take you seriously.

"Now, what do you want?"

James glared at her as he came to a standstill in front of her.

"You're mean, you know that?"

Jessie grinned.

"Mean… but fair. What do you want?"

James pursed his lips but decided it wouldn't be very professional to slap the girl in front of him.

Maybe he could just kiss her instead…

Woah! thought James, his eyes widening. Where the hell had _that_ come from?

Jessie was Jessie. She was the love of his little brother's life, even if he didn't know it yet, end of.

Mentally shaking himself, he said, "I need your help."

"James, I am not asking anyone out for you," said Jessie instantly. "Last time I did that, I had to spend the whole week being called Lessie-Jessie by your stupid mates."

"No, no, I don't want you to ask anyone out for me!" said James quickly, adding in hushed tones, "And we agreed to keep that secret – I've got a reputation to uphold, you know!"

"James…" said Jessie, getting impatient. "What-"

"Alright, alright!" he snapped, all desire to kiss Jessie gone as quickly as it had come. "God, you are _annoying_! Please can you help me with my class of First Years?"Jessie looked slightly stunned.  
"You want help… with a class?" she repeated, looking unsure. "But I thought you were cool with-"  
"Yeah, yeah, I know!" said James, looking steadily more pissed. "But little kids – I can't deal with them, okay? I was alright this morning when I woke up, because I thought, you know, if they're a pain, I'll just yell at them, but then I realised they'd cry and then I started to panic, because crying kids are even worse than non-crying kids and-"

"I'll do it."

James stammered to a stop.

"You'll-you'll do it?"

"Yeah, sure," said Jessie, shrugging her shoulders. "When's the class?"

"Well… now. And we're already late."

* * *

"Al, are you okay?" said Leanne, leaning around her boyfriend to grab a roll. "You look worried."

"Leanne, how do you feel about going out for dinner tonight, my treat?" burst out Al, looking determined.

Slightly taken aback, Leanne placed her roll on her plate and set down her knife.

"I'd say… why? You never mentioned it before…"

"Well, yeah, but that's because I only just thought of it!"

Leanne narrowed her eyes.

"This doesn't have anything to do with the fact that Jessie's going into town with Mark, does it?"

Al's face reddened.

"No!" he said, trying to look offended at the mere idea of it. "Of course not! I honestly don't understand you're obsession with the idea of me liking Jessie! That's like me saying you've got a thing with Mark!"

Leanne's eyes widened.

"Well that's just absurd!" she spluttered, her face reddening.

"Exactly!" said Al, taking her hand. "Come on, Lee, we haven't done anything together, just the two of us, for ages!"

"Ok," said Leanne, without hesitating. "We'll go. But if we bump into Jessie and Mark, I won't be happy."

Al gulped, but nodded obediently.

* * *

"Dude, why were you staring at me last night?"

Finch spat out his mouthful of pumpkin juice all over the table and turned to Hugo, spluttering.

"What?" he said hoarsely, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his robe. "I wasn't-"

"Yeah, you were," said Hugo quietly, leaning in so that Razor, who was absorbed with eating his full-English, wouldn't hear. "I caught you doing it like, three times. What's up?"

"I was just-"

"Are you worried about me and Barratt?"

Finch's eyes widened.

"How-"

"Look, everyone knows," said Hugo, looking fervently around him, "But no one cares."

"They-they don't?" asked Finch, looking shocked.

"Nah, mate. Just because you're a goody-two-shoes, it doesn't matter that you get into fights. I mean look at my dead – he _killed_ someone and now he's headmaster! Absolutely mental."

Finch forced a laugh.

How could he have been so stupid to think Hugo and everyone really knew?

He shuddered as he imagined what would happen if everyone found out… and what Barratt would do to him if they did.


	30. The Potential

"Are you okay, Rose?"

Rose started as Nathan touched her lightly on the hand.

"What?" she said, getting her bearings in the History of Magic class she was in.

"You've been staring into space for the last five minutes," laughed Nathan, lightly. "What're you thinking about?"

"Oh, nothing," said Rose, twirling her quill nervously between her fingers. "Just detention."

"With Scorpius, right?" said Nathan, nodding. "You nervous?"

"_Nervous_?" Rose forced a laugh. "Why on earth would I be _nervous_? It's just _Scorpius_!"

"Yeah, but he's not the same guy you were friends with before, is he?" pushed Nathan. "I mean, you haven't _really_ spent any quality time together since the end of fifth year, right? What if you don't know what to say to him?"

"Yeah, but we talked the other day," said Rose, desperately trying to ignore all the things Nathan was saying, despite the fact she'd thought about every one of those things a hundred times over.

"Yeah, for like, ten minutes," he pointed out.

"If I find out I'm pregnant or something, I am _never_ going to you to make me feel better," said Rose crossly.

Nathan grinned.

"'Course you wouldn't –I'd be the father!"

* * *

Scorpius was walking down to the dungeons, when he felt the presence of someone behind him.

"What do you want, Carla?" he sold coldly, without even turning around.

"Oh, nothing," said Carla sweetly, coming round to stand in front of him. "I just thought you'd want to know a little secret about your girlfriend, that's all."

Scorpius' nostrils flared.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, it turns out our little Rose Weasley isn't quite as innocent as we thought," smiled Carla, looking like butter wouldn't melt.

"What do you mean?" said Scorpius, his voice icy.

"It turns out her and Nathan Shacklebolt? They've been getting it on," Carla grinned.

Scorpius' expression darkened.

"You're lying," he said, reaching for his wand. "Rose wouldn't do that."

"Wouldn't she?" smiled Carla. "I thought that was the very reason you guys stopped being friends in the first place? Or did I imagine watching your heart break as you watched Shacklebolt kissing her, touching her-"

"Shut up!" he spat, gripping his wand as memories of the past washed over him, his heart squeezing as he remembered how it had felt to see her kissing that idiot Shacklebolt and not him.

"Well," said Carla, stepping around him, her face full of glee, "I think I've done my good deed for the day. See you later, cuz."

She began walking off, Scorpius still frozen with bad memories.

As she reached the end of the corridor, she turned around and called to him, "Don't forget your detention later! Maybe you can ask Rose what it's like to shag the nephew of a Minister for Magic!"

With an evil laugh, she turned the corridor and was gone.

* * *

"Alright, alright, calm down!" yelled James, as the First Years surrounding him began squealing. "It's just a box of flobberworms; they're not going to kill you!"

"They're _gross_, sir!" cried one little girl, looking horrified as she clutched the arm of one of her classmates. "Do we have to _touch_ them?"

"Yes, you do," cut in Jessie, as James looked about ready to tip the box over the girl's head. "And, honestly, they're quite cute."

"But they look weird!"

"Yeah but so does your face!" quipped a mean looking Hufflepuff.

The class laughed as the boy's mates high-fived him.

"Okay, calm down!" shouted James, his stress levels rising by the second. "You, skinny, ratty looking kid, come here! Yes, I'm talking to you! Get to the front, now!"

The Hufflepuff made his way forward, a look of anger on his face.

"You can't do this to me!" he spat at James, as he took his place behind the box of Flobberworms. "Do you know who my father is?"

"No," said James, looking supremely unconcerned, "And I'm not bother either. Who do you think you are, anyway; Draco Malfoy? Now start handing those worms out!"

Jessie suppressed a grin.

As much as James tried to protest, he could actually be quite nice, mature and, shockingly, funny.

Of course, she'd never tell him so.

The arrogance that would entail would be unbearable.

"So," said James, as the class wandered off to do their drawings, "How're things with you and Al?"

Jessie raised her eyebrows.

"Not great, if I'm being brutally honest," she said with a sigh. "This whole he-and-Leanne-having-sex-thing has totally messed everything up."

"Why?" asked James, fishing a bag of midget gems out of his pocket and offering her some.

"That's the thing," said Jessie, as she took a small handful and popped them into her mouth, "I don't know! It really shouldn't have made any difference – they've been together for years, it was bound to happen! It's just… it was really fast, unplanned, completely the opposite of what they'd always talked about and just a bit… seedy."

"It was," agreed James, throwing a gem into the air and catching it in his mouth, "Even by my standards. I mean, sure, go and get it over and done with around the back of the broom shed, a quickie and all if you want it to be anything but special, but don't get all shag-adelic in the bloody dormitory – not your first time, anyway!"

"It's not _where_ it was that was the problem," said Jessie, marvelling at James' ridiculous opinion on what made a good first-time, "It was just… I don't know, Leanne was proper arsey – not exactly a turn-on!"

"I don't know," mused James, aiming a midget gem at the Hufflepuff who'd been causing trouble earlier, "Angry girls can be quite sexy."

"Yes, but angry fathers aren't!" cried Jessie, as James pulled his arm back to lob the sweet. "What are you doing?"

James looked down at Jessie's hand clamped around his wrist and grinned.

"Nothing," he smirked, lowering his arm.

Jessie rolled her eyes and let go of his arm.

"Yeah, right," she said, grabbing the bag of sweets sticking out of his pocket.

"Oi, first years!" she yelled, holding up the bag of gems. "Who wants a sweet?"

* * *

It was mid-afternoon and Rose was in a flap.

"Oh, Jessie, what do I do, what do I wear?" she cried, lobbing clothes around the dormitory. "Should I dress up, dress down, do my hair differently, WHAT?"

"Ok, first off all," said Jessie, dragging one of Rose's dresses off of her head, "Calm the fuck down. You've got detention, not a date! Just wear a pair of jeans, a nice top and some ballet pumps, slick on a bit of make-up and run a brush through your hair and, voila! You're done!"

Rose stared at her.

"Seriously?" she said, her eyes wide. "You think that's all I should do?"

Jessie looked at her like she was mad.

"Um, yes! What were you planning to wear, a prom dress?"

"Noooo," said Rose, trying to look as though the thought had never crossed her mind. "I'm just nervous, you know?"

"Yes," said Jessie, turning her back on her and staring at herself in the mirror as she put on some mascara, "But you're acting completely barmy! What's gotten into you? You don't _like_ Scorpius, do you, so you don't _really_ need to impress him, right?"

Rose sighed.

"I guess. Eurgh, I don't know. Anyway, why are _you_ getting so dressed up? I thought you didn't even _like_ this Mark guy?"

"I don't," said Jessie, concentrating as she put on some eyeliner. "I'd just like to dress up nice, for once. I haven't been out with a guy on my own for _ages_."

"I'm sure James would take you out," said Rose absently, as she decided which top to wear.

"_What_? Ow!"

Jessie stabbed herself in the eye as the full force of Rose's words hit her.

"Jesus, Rose!" she shouted, dabbing at her streaming eye makeup with a wipe. "Look what you made me do!"

"Sorry, I'm sorry!" said Rose, not even paying attention as she chucked away half of her wardrobe. "I wasn't thinking; I'm just so nervous!"

"I don't care about your nerves!" cried Jessie, laying her makeup and brushes down, her face finished. "What do you mean, 'I'm sure James would take you out'! James _who_?"

"Well, Potter, of course!" replied Rose, as if Jessie was stupid. "Which other James' do we know?"

"But-but," Jessie was stammering, "_James Potter _doesn't _like_ me! That's ridiculous!"

"Is it?" said Rose, eyeing Jessie's alarmed expression with pity. "Ever since we got to The Burrow he's not been able to keep his eyes off your arse. Well, except when he was eyeing up that sixth year… but that's not the point! I think he's got the hots for you."

"No," said Jessie, shaking her head furiously, "No, you're wrong."

"Well," said Rose, finally dragging on a lace top and a pair of skinny jeans, "We'll soon find out – Scarlett Bridges is planning a game of truth or dare in the Common Room tonight, for all the sixth and seventh years and James has been invited. I'll purposefully make sure the bottle points at you and Mark, get you to kiss… and watch the jealous-sparks fly!"

Jessie stared at her friend, mouth-agape.

"Rose Weasley, you've gotten so… evil! What's happened to you?"

"I know," grinned Rose, as she pulled open the bedroom door, "I think it's the fear – it does things to you!"

"I'll say!" laughed Jessie, as they made their way down the spiral staircase. "Hey! Invite Scorpius too!"

Rose stumbled and fell down a few steps.

Grabbing the banister, she righted herself and looked round at Jessie in alarm.

"Why?" she choked, looking horrified. "Why would I do that?"

"Because," grinned Jessie, taking her by the arm and leading her down the stairs, "I've got a little hunch of my own I want sorting out…"

* * *

"Wow, you look gorgeous."

Leanne smiled at her boyfriend, pleased at the compliment.

"Thank you," she said, fingering her lilac, velvet dress. "I got it in the States. I didn't think it'd look very good but someone in the shop told me to try it on anyway."

"I'm glad they did," said Al, mesmerised by the way the velvet clung to his girlfriend's curves. "You look gorgeous."

Leanne giggled.

"You said that already!"

"I know," said Al, unable to tear his eyes away. "But you do!"

Leanne's second giggle was cut short by the approach of Mark and Jessie.

"Hey, I told you it'd look good, didn't I!" said Mark, nodding his head in approval as he and Jessie reached Al and Leanne.

Al snapped right out his trance.

"What?" he snapped, looking from Leanne to Mark and back again. "I thought you said someone in the shop told you it'd look good?"

"They did," said Leanne hurriedly, with an angry look at Mark. "Mark just overheard me talking to um, to Lulu about it in the Common Room and told me the same thing."

"Yeah," said Mark, with an odd look at Leanne. "My sister's into all that fashion-crap – you can't help but get sucked in sometimes, you know. Anyway, Jessie and I should be on our way – we don't want to spoil what looks set to be a _very_ romantic evening."

With a small nod and a smile from Jessie, they left, leaving an air of anger in their wake.

"God, that guy is a tosser," snarled Al, following Mark and Jessie's exit with his eyes. "What does she see in him?"

"Oh, god, get a grip, Al," snapped Leanne. "Jessie will be fine – he's not an animal, you know!"

"How do you know?" enquired Al, looking annoyed. "You only met the guy three days ago!"

Leanne opened her mouth, as if to argue, but seemed to think better of it and closed it again.

"Right," she said, "You're right. Let's get going, shall we?"

Al nodded and forced himself to keep his mind on Leanne.

As she pulled down the bottom of her dress to stop it from riding-up, he couldn't help but marvel at the fact that he'd never had any competition for her affection.

Huh, he thought, as he took her hand, We must really show people how in-love we are.

* * *

"Lily?"

There was a tentative knock on the dormitory door.

"Lily, can I come in?"

Lily, who was sat on her bed, rolled her eyes.

"Sure," she said, not bothering to look up as Jasmine came in.

"Oh, Lily, I'm _so_ sorry!" cried Jasmine, rushing over to the bed. "I didn't mean to lie to you, I just wanted you to go out with Chuck because you've liked him so long, and you might find he's not actually such a twat and-!"

"It's ok," said Lily calmly, finally looking up at her friend.

"It's… it is?" said Jasmine, looking delighted. "Oh, thank Merlin!"

Lily was engulfed as Jasmine gave her a massive hug.

"Alright, alright," laughed Lily, hugging her back. "I'm sorry I was such a bitch to you."

Jasmine, letting go of her, took a place next to her on the bed.

"It doesn't matter," she said firmly. "It's all potion under the bridge now. Right, we should hurry up and get you ready – what are you wearing?"

"Excuse me?"

Lily stood up and looked down at Jasmine in astonishment.

"You're not actually suggesting I still _go_ with him, are you?" she said angrily. "For one thing, I sucker punched him in the stomach, so I can't imagine he's too keen on doing _anything_ with me right now, let alone go out for dinner!"

"Nonsense," said Jasmine, now rummaging around in Lily's trunk for a skirt and top for her to wear. "I spoke to Chuck before I came up here and he said he completely understood and would like to pay for dinner instead of you."

"He said _what_?"

Before Jasmine could say another word, however, Terri came flying into the dormitory, looking scandalised.

"You will _never_ believe who's downstairs waiting for you, Lily!" she gasped, clutching her chest as she tried to catch her breath.

Lily felt her stomach flip but she didn't have time to answer Terri, who, not waiting for a reply, barrelled on, "It's CHUCK! He's got flowers and _everything_!"

"What?" cried Lily, feeling her face getting redder by the second. "But I don't even-"

"Oh, shut up, Lily!" screeched Jasmine, looking thrilled.

She waved her wand at Lily.

In a flash, Lily was dressed, her hair and makeup immaculate and her feet ensconced in a pair of heeled boots.

Lily stared at her reflection in disgust.

"Shoot me, shoot me now.

"All this effort, and I'm going out with a guy who, by all accounts, looks to be a complete knob," she continued, with a sigh.

Growling, she grabbed her coat and pulled it over her skirt and backless top and pushed past her mates, who were both grinning.

"You're both going to pay for this when I get back," she called over shoulder as she made her way downstairs.

Her threat was met with laughter.

"Bitches," Lily muttered under her breath as she got to the Common Room.

Her stomach flipped again as her eyes settled on Chuck, who was, it had to be said, looking rather hot.

"Bollocks," she cursed.


	31. The Dates

"Wow, Hogsmeade has some seriously cool shops," said Mark, as he and Jessie took a seat at a table in The Three Broomsticks. "I reckon it's good they changed the rules – this Honeydukes shit is to die for!"

"Agreed," said Jessie, grabbing a liquorice wand out of Mark's hand and taking a bite.

"Hey!"

Jessie grinned.

"Here."

She signalled at a waitress, who bought them over two flagons of Butterbeer.

"This," said Jessie, passing Mark one, "Will _definitely_ make up for it."

Mark looked at her questioningly but took a sip.

His face lit up.

"That is fucking amazing."

"I know."

Mark regarded Jessie for a moment, before saying, "You're cute, you know that?"

Jessie blushed.

"Shut up," she said, taking an embarrassed sip of Butterbeer.

It was Mark's turn to grin.

"But you are!" he pushed, reaching over the table and giving her a light punch on the shoulder. "Why don't you have a boyfriend, huh?"

Jessie spat Butterbeer everywhere.

Coughing, she gasped, "I'm so sorry! Here, stay still!"

She waved her wand at a drenched Mark and the Butterbeer disappeared.

"Cheers," he said, checking his hair was Butterbeer free. "Very attractive, I must say."

Jessie rolled her eyes.

"Shut up," she said, still feeling embarrassed. "I'm not usually like this!"

"Only when you're questioned about your love –life?" asked Mark, holding his hands in front of him.

Jessie glared at him.

"Ha, ha," she said sarcastically, taking a sip of her drink with an exaggerated swallow. "I just wasn't expecting you to ask me something like that, that's all."

"Why not?" asked Mark, lowering his hands. "You're a girl, I'm a boy – maybe I'm trying to suss out whether I have a chance with you or not."

Jessie felt her stomach flip.

"Really?" she said, narrowing her eyes.

Mark shrugged.

"Why not? You're good looking, funny, sexy – why wouldn't I be interested?"

Jessie pursed her lips.

"See," she said, "I don't think you are."

Mark raised his eyebrows.

"And why's that?" he asked.

"Well, for one thing, you treat me more like a good mate," said Jessie, watching Mark carefully for his reaction. "Plus, I dunno… you just strike me as a guy I'd get along with better as a best mate, rather than a boyfriend, you know?"

Mark regarded her for a moment, then nodded.

"Thank Merlin," he said, looking relieved. "I really like you Jessie, but just as a mate; I didn't want any romantic shit getting in the way of want I think could be a really good friendship."

Jessie smiled, surprised but comforted at his bluntness.

"Me too," she assured him, grabbing a menu. "Now, let's eat something because I am bloody starving!"

"Man, so am I!" said Mark, picking up a menu, too. "But Jessie? If you steal fries from my plate, I am going to have to kill you."

"Cor, that girl was fit!" exclaimed Hugo, turning around to get a good look at her arse. "Merlin, they don't make them like that at Hogwarts, do they!"

Razor shook his head whilst Finch rolled his eyes.

"That's because she was about 25 and, might I say, _way _out of your league," said Finch bluntly, pointing them in the direction of The Three Broomsticks.

"Shut up, Finch," said Hugo grumpily, as they entered the pub. "Just because the only person who's ever hit on you was a guy!"

Finch blushed.

"God, imagine getting hit on by a guy!" exclaimed Razor, looking horrified. "I bet that was enough to make you want to chuck yourself off of the top of the Astronomy Tower!"

Finch grimaced.

"Yes, it was a spectacular put-down," he said quietly, meekly ordering a pumpkin juice and looking a bit upset.

Hugo, noticing this, frowned.

"Mate, he was only joking," he said, ordering a Butterbeer. "At least someone _has_ hit on you; me and Razor are still waiting!"

"Hey!"

"Oh, come on!" said Hugo, laughing at Razor's offended expression, "You know it's true! And that first year doesn't count – she was asking you to come with her to the Care of Magical Creatures patch, not on a _date_. Merlin, that was one of the funniest days of my life when you said yes and then tried to kiss her. I've never seen someone look so scared!"

"Oh, shut up!" said Razor angrily, as Finch sniggered loudly.

"Ahh, good times," said Hugo, paying for his drink and leading them to a table a few metres away from Jessie and Mark.

Upon seeing them, Jessie waved them over.

"Hey, Hugo, Finch, Razor, come and meet my friend, Mark!"

Leaving their drinks on the table and all secretly thrilled that Jessie still talked to them whilst they were at Hogwarts, they hurried over.

However, when Finch saw who Jessie was sitting with, he froze, a look of horror on his face.

"Guys," said Jessie, getting up from her chair. "This is Mark Bass – he's an exchange student from America. Mark, this is Al's cousin, Hugo, and his friends Finch and Razor."

Mark stood up, too, and shock hands with Hugo and Razor.

When he got to Finch, however, he looked shocked.

"Er," he stumbled, flushing slightly. "It's um… it's nice to meet you, Finch."

Hugo, Jessie and Razor looked between the two of them, all looking slightly confused.

"Do you two know each other?" asked Jessie and Hugo simultaneously.

Mark and Finch looked at each other.

"We-" began Finch, but Mark cut over him.

"Finch here caught me in a rather compromising position," said Mark with a laugh, clapping Finch on the back. "Didn't you mate?"

Finch forced a smile and nodded.

"Yeah," continued Mark, with a grin. "I asked him to keep it to himself – I didn't realise he was part of the Potter-Weasley inner circle! You'll still keep it to yourself, though, right mate?"

Finch nodded again.

"Of course I will," he said, with an oddly grateful smile. "There's some things people don't need to know."

"God, too right," agreed Jessie, shaking her head and re-taking her seat. "I've heard enough about James Potter's sex-life; I don't need someone else's escapades added to the deeply scarring mental images James' life has created on my brain."

Mark, Hugo, Razor and Finch laughed, the tension from Mark and Finch's reintroduction gone.

Jessie and Mark's food arrived, so Hugo, Finch and Razor left them to it.

As soon as they'd sat down, Hugo hissed, "What'd you see?"

Finch just shook his head.

"Some things have to remain secret," he said, taking a sip of his drink. "Try and remember that the next time you watch porn on the internet and feel like sharing about how long it took you to… you know. I just don't need that kind of information running around my head."

Al and Leanne were getting on better than they seemed to have done for ages.

Al couldn't believe they'd only been back at Hogwarts for a few days – so much had happened in such a short amount of time: he and Leanne were seemingly on egg shells; he and Jessie were _definitely_ on egg shells; and he absolutely _hated_ Mark-sodding-Bass.

Plus, he was pretty sure his hair was beginning to thin.

All-in-all, it hadn't been a great start to the term.

However, with he and Leanne apparently back on better terms, he was confident things would improve.

When they entered The Three Broomsticks, though, Al's confidence began to wane.

There, sat at one massive table was Jessie with Mark, James (oddly, alone), Lily with Chuck Davis and Hugo and his mates Razor and Finch.

Briefly wondering where Rose was, Al remembered she had detention with Scorpius Malfoy.

Not fancying spending the night with a guy he despised, Al was about to suggest to Leanne they go somewhere else when James spotted them.

"Hey!" he yelled, waving them over. "Come join us!"

Al glanced at Leanne, who was looking awkward but at the same time slightly tempted.

Seeing him looking at her, Leanne said to Al, "You fancy it?"

Knowing he couldn't say no without facing the Spanish Inquisition, he had no choice but to smile and say, "Sure, why not?"

Conjuring up some more chairs, James began to launch into an explanation as to why they were all sat together.

"Basically, I came in because I was hoping to pull someone but when I arrived I found there weren't any fit witches here, so I thought, stuff that, I'm going to the Hog's Head – they're fit but dirty in there; just my type!

"Anyway, just as I was about to leave, I spotted this cutie-" he signalled at Jessie, who rolled her eyes, "-and I thought, hey, my luck's in!

"Unfortunately, Yankee over there had beaten me to it, so, seemingly defeated, I again turned to leave but, low-and-behold, sat on another table was my dear cousin Hugo!

"So, I started talking to him and then, bloody hell! My _sister_ turns up, accompanied by a rather handsome chappy and I think, this is silly! Why don't we all sit together and have a meal!

"It took a little persuasion on Lily's part, but eventually she agreed after I promised not to tell our father that she was on a date.

"And thus, the table was born! Then you two arrived and it was complete, though of course, we're all missing Rose!"

There was a slightly stunned silence as James let out a huge sigh and took a massive swig of Butterbeer.

"I have never," said Jessie, her eyes wide as she stared at James, "Heard anyone talk so much crap in my entire life.

"Oh, I don't know," Mark grinned at Jessie, "You've come up with some gems in the last few days."

Jessie punched him playfully but Al's eyes had narrowed.

He opened his mouth to tell Mark where to go but was silenced by a look from James, who shook his head warningly.

"Don't do it," James muttered, under cover of Jessie and Mark's play-fighting. "Your girlfriend is Leanne, not Jessie. Remember that."

Al, stared at him, stunned.

Before he could ask James exactly what he meant, though, the table was disrupted by the arrival of a very out of breath Rose, who looked absolutely livid.

"You will not _believe_ what Scorpius Malfoy just said to me!"


	32. The Detention

**45 minutes earlier…**

Rose was a bag of nerves as she made her way to Harry's office.

She found herself oddly excited at the prospect of spending time completely alone with Scorpius… maybe she'd finally get some answers.

After giving the gargoyle statue the password ('Ear Wax') she could literally feel her heart thumping with anticipation.

She gave the door to the office a light tap before entering and felt her stomach flip as she set eyes on Scorpius, who was stood next to Harry.

"Ah, there you are Miss Weasley," said Harry, trying to look official but betraying his affection for her with a smile. "I've got boxes and boxes of school records for you to alphabetise; Miss Weasley, you can sort boxes A-M and Mr Malfoy, you can do boxes N-Z. Have fun."

Despite her previous excitement less than five minutes earlier, Rose could now feel dread creeping into her stomach; she was ALONE WITH SCORPIUS MALFOY – WHAT THE HELL WAS SHE GOING TO DO ALONE WITH SCORPIUS MALFOY?

Scorpius, obviously completely oblivious to Rose's inner torment, picked up the box marked A-M and handed it to her.

Just as he was letting go, their hands brushed and Rose's face went as red as a tomato.

"Why are you blushing?" asked Scorpius coldly, his eyes narrowing. "I thought you liked touching men."

Rose was completely thrown.

"What?" she blurted out. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Scorpius' eyes hardened but he said nothing more, instead picking up his own box and making his way to a desk on the other side of the room.

Rose stared after him, her mouth hanging open.

Not wanting to get in a fight, however, she decided to leave it and took a seat at Harry's desk, where she began sifting through files.

Fifteen minutes later, she burst out laughing.

Scorpius looked up sharply, his expression one of annoyance.

"What?" he asked bluntly, grasping a handful of records. "What's so funny?"

Rose glared at him.

"None of your business," she snapped coldly, before adding snidely, "Though if your dad had kept his nose out of my dad's business, he wouldn't have spent the night in the Forbidden Forest…"

"What?" repeated Scorpius, his expression switching from annoyed to mildly surprised.

Rose threw the file at him.

Catching it, Scorpius threw another glare at her then began reading.

"Huh," he muttered, scanning the paper. "No wonder my dad's afraid of dark woods – doesn't sound like they had much fun!"

"Wh-hat?" laughed Rose, unable to ever think of Draco Malfoy's expression switching from cold to scared. "No way!"

Scorpius involuntarily grinned.

"Yeah, won't go near them unless he has a wand."

"Huh," mused Rose, looking thoughtful. "I never imagined your dad getting scared."

"Oh Merlin, yeah," said Scorpius, walking over to Rose and passing the paper back. "He's not as hard as he likes people to think."

Rose couldn't help smiling at him as she took the paper.

He grimaced back, his eyes suddenly full of hurt.

"Rose… why did you sleep with Nathan Shacklebolt?"

"EXCUSE ME?"

All friendliness gone, Rose leapt out of her chair and stared at Scorpius, her mouth as wide as a pumpkin.

"What on _earth_ are you talking about?"

"Oh, don't give me that!" cried Scorpius, taking a step towards her. "It's so obvious; I can't believe I didn't spot it before!"

"Wh- you are talking utter shit!" screeched Rose, her face reddening. "_You're_ the one who's been shagging Hayley Parkinson!"

Scorpius' male skin flushed.

"How did you-"

"_Nathan_ told me," she spat, satisfied at the anger that flashed through Scorpius' eyes at the mention of his name. "My _friend_!"

"Bollocks!" screeched Scorpius, grabbing her shoulders.

"Hey, get off me!" cried Rose, trying to push him off her. "What the hell are you _doing_?"

"I _saw_ you Rose," Scorpius cried, shaking her. "I _saw_ you kissing him at the End of O. Ball!"

"-and then he just let me go, grabbed his bag and stormed off," finished Rose, looking incredulous. "He was _so_ angry, it was like I'd _cheated_ on him or something!"

The rest of the table had been rapt with attention throughout the entire of Rose's story but it was Mark who broke the silence.

"Rose… he's in love with you."

Rose's mouth dropped.

"No!" she cried, looking incredulous. "No! He's never-"

"I'm telling you," cut in Mark, "He loves you. That's why he's been acting so off for the past year or whatever. You hurt him bad. Plus, it explains why he gave that bracelet back – it was broken because he wasn't your friend anymore; he wanted more."

Noticing everyone staring at him, he added with a grin, "Jessie filled me in on everyone's lives earlier."

Rose was too stunned to say anything else but that didn't stop the conversation flowing.

"I hope she told you what a gift to women I am," said James with a grin. "Not that you'd care, obviously… although… you do have a touch of the gays about you!"

He ducked as Mark threw a chip at him.

"Seriously, though," laughed James, emerging from under the table, "You got a girlfriend? 'Cause I don't reckon Jessie's your type."

"James!"

"Why's that then?" asked Mark, looking interested.

"Well," continued James, "She's far too feisty for you – you've both got strong personalities so she'd kick your butt in any fight. No, I reckon Leanne would be your kind of woman; much more feminine."

A number of yells were emitted from the table's party; one from Hugo, who'd just had drink spat in his face, courtesy of Leanne; Al, who was furious James had practically offered up his girlfriend to his arch-nemesis; James, as Jessie walloped him over the head; and Mark, who'd seemed so surprised at James' admission that he'd managed to tip his chair backwards and was now in a crumpled heap on the floor.

"Merlin, sorry Hugo!" cried Leanne, passing him some napkins as he blinked pumpkin juice out of his eyes. "Mark, are you okay?"

"What the _hell_ is wrong with you, James!" shouted Al, pushing his chair back angrily and storming off.

They all winced as the door to The Three Broomsticks slammed shut.

"Well," said Finch, pushing his drink away. "I think it's time for us to go. Hugo, Razor?"

Hugo, who was still busily wiping his face, stood up immediately and Razor quickly followed.

"See you guys later," said Finch, and he, Hugo and Razor left.

The mood at the table was as solemn as if someone had died.

"Um, me and Chuck should go, too," muttered Lily, grabbing Chuck's hand and practically dragging him away.

Rose quickly scuttled after them.

This left just James, Jessie, Mark and Leanne.

"Well, this is awkward," said Mark, who had managed to pull himself up off of the floor. "I hope you won't be offended if I leave?"

"No," said Jessie, but she didn't move. "I'm going to stay, though, if that's alright with you?"

Mark looked a little surprised but nodded.

"No worries. Um, Leanne, did you want me to walk you home, seeing as your boyfriend stormed off and it's gotten pretty dark?"

This question seemed surprisingly stressful for Leanne, who looked very uncertain about accepting.

"Hey, I was only joking about you two being together," said James, trying to mend some of the damage he'd done. "Go on – it's not like you're cheating on Al by walking home with him."

This comment appeared to make Leanne even more worried, however, as she threw a startled look at Mark.

"Um-" she began but Jessie cut in: "Just _go_ already; it'll be fine!"

Mark, needing no further encouragement, took Leanne by the arm and led her off.

James had never been so uncomfortable in his life.

"Jessie-" he started, but she was having none of it.

"Al's right – what _is_ wrong with you James?" she cried, looking furious. "You're meant to be more mature than the rest of us and although everyone knows you're not, you could at least _pretend _to be! Why do you keep winding Al up? You _know_ he's really sensitive about Mark!"

"Yes but _why_?" shouted James, unable to control his temper. "Who gives a shit about Mark – he's nothing to do with Leanne! The only reason he can't stand him is because you can!"

"What?" said Jessie, looking bewildered. "Why would Al-"

"Because he _likes_ you, you dozy bint!" cried James, looking frustrated. "_How_ can you not _see _it?"

"No!" said Jessie, looking disbelieving. "I mean, sure, we've flirted in the past but-"

"Oh, don't be so naïve," spat James furiously. "Don't you wonder why I always tease him about it? It's because I know what I'm saying is actually true and he can't admit it!"

Jessie just stared at him.

"You're wrong," she croaked, shaking her head. "We're just friends, always have been."

"I'm telling you, he likes you," continued James, looking serious. "I've seen it mounting over the last year but now he's got some competition. When you were with old-what's-his-name-"

"Justin," interjected Jessie.

"Whoever," said James impatiently. "When you were with him, you were more like friends than boyfriend and girlfriend; Al never had to worry about losing you to another man. Now, though…"

"Me and Mark are just friends," said Jessie, looking annoyed, "Always will be. And anyway, why do you care so much about whether Al's into me or not – I thought you liked seeing everyone in turmoil."

James looked at her with unreadable eyes.

"Then you don't know me at all."

As James left, Jessie mused that there was certainly not going to be any spin-the-bottle fun when she got back.

What she didn't know was that more than one of her friends was engaging in some extracurricular snogging – and more - without any encouragement.


	33. The Energy

A few months had passed since that night in The Three Broomsticks and nothing was as it should be.

Though Al and James were still talking, there was always a weird energy surrounding them, like they'd left a lot of things unsaid.

This energy only increased when Jessie, Mark or Leanne joined in their conversations.

Lily, too, was not having a great time of things; though she and Chuck had been dating for the last two months, she still felt oddly uneasy around him, as though he was hiding something.

Rose and Scorpius were, as usual, not talking, but Rose's confusion about their situation had only heightened after his outburst during detention, especially as he and Hayley Parkinson were now officially an 'item'.

All in all, it had been a terrible start to the year.

However, for one Weasley, things were looking up.

Hugo had been attending his one-on-one classes with Barrat for the past six weeks and was finding he was actually enjoying them.

Of course, initially he had tried to get out of them in any way possible, going as far as trying to curse himself; however, his efforts were thwarted when Harry caught him in the Library (a rare and suspicious place for him to be, anyway) and, after realising what he was up to, frogmarched him to class.

Barrat and Hugo's first lesson together was excruciatingly awkward; Barrat didn't even acknowledge Hugo's presence, ploughing through everything he needed to know before bolting as soon as the clock struck 7pm.

Hugo was all for never going back but Harry had other ideas, making sure to escort him again the next week.

Things were just as awkward as the week before but by the end of class, Hugo felt like he'd actually learnt something… and he found he was excited by this.

As the weeks passed, Hugo no longer needed an escort and by week six, he and Barrat were actually talking… well, sort of.

"-And finally, how do you spell 'Expelliarmus'?"

"E.X.P.E.L.L.I.A.R.M.U.S," recited Hugo, proudly.

"Correct," said Barrat, closing the book they had been working from. "Right, I think we're done."

"Cool," said Hugo, putting his stuff into his bag, suddenly feeling nervous. "Um, unless… unless you wanna have dinner together?"

Barrat stared at him.

"Oh!" cried Hugo, looking alarmed. "Oh, no, not like _that_! Not in a _gay_ way, no! I just meant, in the Great Hall, _with other people_. It's just, we used to all be friends and I thought-"

"Yeah, okay," said Barrat, getting up and heading to the door. "I hope they're serving pizza; I'm starving!"

*

Finch nearly choked when he saw who had sat down at the Gryffindor table beside Hugo.

"Barrat?" he exclaimed, looking stunned. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Calm down, Finch," said Barrat, helping himself to an entire ham and pineapple pizza, "I'm just eating."

Finch looked over at Hugo in alarm.

Hugo just shrugged.

"He's been helping me, so I thought we should all try and be friends again."

Yeah, well, thought Finch, as he gingerly went back to eating his food, Let's see how friendly everyone is when they find out…

*

"Is that Holland _Barrat_ sat with Hugo and his friends?" exclaimed Rose, who was sat with Lily, Terri and Jas.

Terri peered down the table.

"Yeah," she said, sounding supremely unconcerned. "Oh, look, Rose; it's Scorpius and his whore."

Rose didn't even bother to turn around – she'd had enough of watching Scorpius stick his tongue down Hayley Parkinson's throat to last her a lifetime.

"Meh," she said, helping herself to some apple pie. "At least he's not having a go at me anymore."

"Yes, that was rather odd," interjected Jas, glancing thoughtfully over at Scorpius.

"Well, I always thought he was cracked," said Terri, picking bits of spinach out of her teeth.

"So how's it going with Nathan?" asked Lily.

Rose blushed.

She and Nathan had been dating for the past month – not that anyone knew, apart from Lily, Jessie, Terri and Jas – and she was beginning to really fall for him.

"He's… he's great," she said, looking down at her apple pie with a smile. "We're dressing up as Dracula and Buffy tomorrow night."

"Aah, of course," said Terri, eyeing up a 7th Year Slytherin with a tattoo on his neck, "It's Halloween."

*

"Jessie, are you ready?" yelled Rose, smoothing down her newly blonde hair. "This spell only lasts for five hours and I want to make the most of it!"

She turned around as the bathroom door opened and felt her breath catch.

"Wow."

Jessie was wearing a floor-length, skin-tight red gown, with purple gloves, red heels and bountiful red hair.

"You're-!"

"Jessica Rabbit," grinned Jessie, turn on the spot to show off the complete look. "Get it?"

"Yes!" cried Rose, looking excited. "And, Merlin, are you going to get some!"

"Oh, shut up," tutted Jessie, as she eyed herself in the mirror. "You don't think it's too much?"

"Not at all," grinned Rose, over her shock at seeing Jessie looking so glamorous. "You're a knockout – now let's go!"

*

"I'm really not sure about this."

Hugo glanced over at Finch, who was staring at the lace-cuffed coat and feather cap he was wearing with a look of disgust.

"Oh, come on," said Razor, drawing his sword and pretending to fight an invisible foe, "Being a mouseketeer is fun!"

"Musketeer," muttered Finch, as Hugo bounded over to the door to let Barrat and his friends in.

*

"Wow," said Lily, as she and Chuck walked into the Great Hall, "This place looks ace!"

The Great Hall was decked out in all its Halloween Glory, with blood punch, ghostly decorations and an array of deathly looking snacks.

There was also a large stage located at the far end, with a dance floor set in front of it.

"Hey, Bonnie, Clyde, over here!"

Lily and Chuck looked over to see Mark, Al and Leanne stood over where the Gryffindor table normally was.

"Austin Powers," grinned Lily, nodding her head in approval at Mark's outfit as they reached them. "And you are…?"

"Um, Rose and Jack, from Titanic," said Leanne, looking embarrassed.

"It was a last minute decision," added Al, who looked supremely uncomfortable. "Where's everyone else?"

"Jessie and Rose are just coming and Hugo and his friend Razor were trying to talk Finch out of the bathroom," said Chuck, who was looking longingly at the drinks table.

Noticing his line of sight, Leanne said, "Come on, let's go get some punch; I hear there's actual cow's blood in it."

Looking utterly revolted, Chuck followed her over just as James arrived, dressed as-

"The Devil?" said Lily, her eyebrows raised. "Really?"

"Hey!" said James, looking indignant. "I was all set to come as 'The Spy Who Shagged Me' but bucko over here beat me to it."

He indicated Mark, who grinned.

"Hey, man," he shrugged, looking pleased with himself, "You're just jealous that I look cooler than you!"

"What? The Devil is just as cool as Austin – evil is sexy!"

"Uh, you _do_ know who your father is, right?"

James was about to elicit a sarcastic response when a gasp from Al made him stop.

"Oh. My. Goddess."

James turned around to see what he was staring at and felt his heartbeat quicken.

Jessie and Rose had just reached them and were causing all sorts of commotion.

"Woah, Rose, Jessie," said Mark, staring at his friend with his mouth hanging open, "You look stunning! Jessie, is that real material?"

Jessie slapped his hand away with a roll of her eyes. "Yes it is, Austin. Now, where's that American Halloween candy you promised me?"

As Mark began pulling out copious amounts of cauldron-shaped sweets from his psychedelic suit, Rose watched James and Al with interest…

*

"So, when do you think we should tell people?" smiled Nathan, as he and Rose slow-danced to the Midnight Minxes.

"I think they might have worked it out for themselves," grinned Rose, as Nathan leaned in and kissed her.

"Um, excuse me?"

Rose turned around and was stunned to see Scorpius, dressed as Abraham Lincoln, stood beside her.

"Wh-Um," she said, dropping her arms from around Nathan's neck. "Yes?"

"Sorry, I was talking to Nathan," said Scorpius, not looking her. "Can I talk to you for a minute, mate?"

'Mate?' thought Rose, staring at Scorpius as Nathan frowned at him.

"Why?" he asked, looking hugely distrustful.

"It won't take long, I promise," pressed Scorpius, glancing over his shoulder at Hayley, who was stood a few metres away, looking very disgruntled in a Playboy Bunny outfit.

Nathan narrowed his eyes.

After a pause, though, he nodded and indicated a place where they could talk, leaving a bewildered Rose in the middle of the dance floor.

*

"You really do look sensational tonight, Jessie," said Mark, as they waltzed their way around the Great Hall.

"Ha, ha," said Jessie, as they passed Hugo and Razor trying to chat up Catwoman and Supergirl, "Re-thinking your whole 'just friends' thing?"

Mark smiled.

"Maybe," he said, looking suddenly nervous. "But there is something I really need you to do for me."

"Anything," said Jessie, worried at his sudden change of attitude.

"I'm glad you said that," said Mark.

And then he kissed her.


	34. The Kiss

"Merlin on a stick!"cried Lily, witnessing the kiss over Chuck's shoulder. "Mark just kissed Jessie!"

Chuck spun around and was shocked to see Lily was telling the truth.

"What the-?" he said, as Lily looked desperately around for Terri and Jas. "I thought he was in love with someone else!"

Lily wasn't even listening.

"Terri, Jas, get over here!" she hissed at her friends, who were both seemingly rooted to the spot fifty yards away.

They weren't the only ones; the whole hall seemed to have stopped, watching and wondering what Jessie would do once the kiss ended.

However, no one could have predicted what was going to happen next.

There was a loud _crack _as Leanne slapped Al clean across the face.

Jessie and Mark pulled apart just in time to see her begin screaming at him.

"Enough! I've had _enough_! I can't do this anymore, Al, it's not _fair_! If you want Jessie, for Merlin's sake, _have her_! Just stop dragging me along whilst you make your mind up - _I won't be your back-up anymore_!"

"L-leanne-" Al stammered but she was already gone, the sea of students parting to let her through.

There was a deathly silence; the Midnight Minxes had stopped playing long ago.

"Woah."

Everybody turned to look at James, who was stood in the centre of the room, staring between his brother and Jessie and Mark, who were still stood close together, Jessie's mouth hanging open with shock.

"Wh-" breathed Jessie, looking confused and upset. "What-?"

"Alright, losers," shouted Fred Weasley, who could see his cousins struggling, "Noses out! This is second-rate Potter stuff; not even worth Rita Skeeter's old scraps! Midnight Minxes, continue please!"

Surprisingly, everyone did what he said, leaving the Potters and the Weasleys to continue with their drama.

"What the _fuck_ is going on?" asked Hugo, coming over with Finch and Razor. "What the hell was Leanne on about?"

Al was glaring at Mark, however.

"You bastard!" he spat, drawing his wand. "You did that on purpose!"

"Hey, hey!" said James, standing between the two with his hands out. "Let's all try and calm down... or take it outside at least – dad would kill you if you started duelling in the middle of the Great Hall!"

The Potters, Weasleys, Jessie, Nathan and Chuck followed James out into the courtyard, shivering slightly in the cool October air.

"Now," said James, as everyone took their positions around the courtyard, "As Hugo asked a few minutes ago; what the _fuck _is going on?"

"Why don't you ask _Mark_," spat Al, glaring at the American with pure loathing. "He's the one who's caused all of this!"

"Hey, man, it's your girlfriend who smacked you upside the head, not mine!" said Mark, looking back at Al with equal loathing.

"Oh, so you and Jessie are an item now, are you?" yelled Al hotly, looking at Jessie accusingly.

Before Jessie could cry "No!", Mark said, "So what if we are? That doesn't affect your relationship with Leanne... does it?"

"Oooh," muttered Fred, who had come outside with the rest of his family, not wanting to miss out on anything. "He's got a point."

"I-It's not-you don't know what you're talking about!" shouted Al, his face reddening.

"I thought you said I was the one who knew what was going on?" smirked Mark, enjoying riling his nemesis.

"Why you-"

James and Nathan had to step in to hold back Al, who was yelling furiously at Mark.

"You're an American _wanker_ who's managed to fuck everything up ever since you arrived! Everyone was happy before you got here and now my girlfriend's fucking _dumped_ me for no fucking _reason_! And, by the way, Jessie, I _don't_ fancy you and I _never_ have – how could I ever like someone who lets American twats stick their tongues down their throat?"

Jessie gasped, his sharp words hurting as much as if he had hit her.

"Jesus, Al-" began James, looking shocked at his callousness but Al wasn't finished.

"Don't even get me _started _on you, James! You're an immature _prat_ whose father is _never_ going to take him seriously because he's a fucking loser who's _never_ going to live up to his legacy! If it had been _you _who had to fight Voldemort, the world would be fucked!"

There was a horrible crunching sound as James punched Al in the face, breaking his nose.

The girls all screamed.

"Oh fucking _yeah_?" he yelled, as Al clutched his nose in pain. "Well I'm not the one who's alienating _everyone_ who cares about him because he's too much of a _coward_ to admit how he really feels! You've fucking _lost_ it Al – now piss off before someone breaks more than your nose!"

With one final glare at everyone, Al left, blood running off his face, leaving his shell-shocked family and friends in his wake.

"Oh my God," said Lily, looking really worried as she, Jas and Terri made their way back to the Gryffindor Common Room, no longer in the partying mood. "That is the worse fight I've ever seen those two have – I can't believe the things Al was saying; it was so unlike him!"

Jas and Terri just shook their heads, both just as shocked at what had happened as Lily was.

Rose had accompanied Nathan back to the Ravenclaw Common Room, not wanting to risk bumping into Al.

"I can't believe what Al said to Jessie and James," she said, looking visibly upset. "And when James punched him! How are they ever going to recover from that?"

Nathan put a comforting arm around her and said, "I don't know, but they all love each other; they'll work it out."

"I hope so," said Rose, still sounding worried "Hey, I've just remembered! What did Scorpius want?"

Rose felt Nathan stiffen.

"Oh, it was just, uh, he just wanted to talk about our Charms homework this week."

Rose frowned.

"Charms homework?" she repeated, not looking convinced. "Why would he talk to you about _that_?"

"Beats me," shrugged Nathan, keen to get off the subject. "Hey, your blonde hair's beginning to fade!"

"Oh, what?" cried Rose, dashing to a mirror and looking at her hair in dismay. "Five hours my arse!"

"Are you okay?" Mark asked Jessie gently, once everyone had disappeared, James promising to come back once he'd told his dad what had happened.

Jessie looked at him, her eyes swimming with tears.

"Why did you kiss me?" she whispered, the tears beginning to slide down her cheeks. "You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?"

"I-" began Mark, struggling to find the right words. "I didn't think _this_ would happen – Jessie, what Al said to you was _completely_ out of order."

Jessie's tears streamed faster as the distress and unhappiness she was feeling began to consume her.

"I just-" she stuttered, trying to stem the tears with her fist. "I don't understand what happened – one minute, we were just dancing as friends; then you kissed me and all hell broke loose!"

"I'm so sorry," said Mark, looking upset at the pain he was causing his friend. "Jessie, if I'd known kissing you would have caused this much trouble, I would never have done it!"

"But why _did_ you?" cried Jessie, beginning to get angry. "What were you trying to _achieve_?"

"I wanted to prove something I'd suspected for a while!" cried Mark, getting frustrated. "I wanted to prove to Leanne that she and Al _weren't_ happy and that she'd be better off with me!"


	35. The Truth

"What?"

Mark sighed.

"Leanne? Yeah, I've fallen in love with her."

"What?" repeated Jessie, looking mightily confused. "Why? I-I mean – _how_? I don't think I've ever seen you two say more than three words to each other!"

Mark coughed, looking awkward.

"Mine and Leanne's relationship isn't quite as it seems..."

"Relationship?" cried Jessie, looking aghast. "Leanne cheated on Al?"

"No!" exclaimed Mark, looking shocked at the suggestion. "No, Leanne would never do that to Al!"

"Then what-"

"I'm in love with Leanne," he said simply.

Jessie's nose scrunched up in disbelief.

"But you've only known her two months..."

"Four."

"No, you only got... oh. You met her in America, didn't you?" said Jessie, finally comprehending.

Mark nodded.

"My parents are horticulturists – they met Leanne's dad a few years back at a convention in New York. They told him if he or any of his family needed to spend any time in America, they were welcome to stay with us. Leanne's dad said we were welcome to do the same in England.

"So, when Leanne got an internship at America's Ministry of Magic, she came to stay at my house for two months. We'd never met before but there was this like, instant connection. She was so smart and funny and-"

"Leanne, funny?" said Jessie, eyebrows raised. "Really?"

"Hey, Leanne is funny!" cried Mark, looking offended. "I mean, admittedly, she doesn't show it off well here... but the combination of stress and not being in love with your boyfriend anymore would do that to a girl!"

"Yeah, yeah, alright!" said Jessie, holding up her hands. "I get it – Leanne can actually be funny. Now get on with your story!"

Mark narrowed his eyes.

"Fine, Miss Bossy-Pants, I will continue... So, as I was saying, Leanne and I just connected. We'd hang out once she got back from work and she'd tell me all about her life here and about how she felt kind of trapped-"

"Why did she feel trapped?" interrupted Jessie, frowning.

"Well," said Mark, thinking hard to remember exactly what she'd told him. "I think after like, how many years? Three or something, she was getting bored with Al – not in a horrible way! It's just that, people grow, they change; I mean, she's only 17."

Jessie thought about what Mark had said.

"Okay," she said, nodding. "I understand all that but why did she seem so unhappy when you arrived?"

"I rocked the boat," said Mark, with a shrug. "She could admit how she truly felt in America, away from any guilt, but here? I knew I made her happy and once those two months had passed, I made the decision to come to Hogwarts; I got in contact with Leanne's dad and he hooked me up.

"I didn't tell Leanne what I'd done because I knew she'd go nuts. So, when I rocked up to the front doors of Hogwarts on September 1st, she was furious: terrified that Al would find out that she wasn't happy with but at the same time terrified that he wouldn't as well.

"I watched as she tried to alleviate her guilt by taking it out on those closest to her – first you, by way of a rather major dressing down-"

Jessie remembered Leanne's over-the-top outburst at dinner on the very first night.

"-and then by trying to convince herself that she and Al could work, by... well."

Mark's face darkened.

Jessie nodded, knowing what he was referring to.

"So have you just spent the last month trying to get her to break up with Al?" she asked, without judgement.

"Yep. Finch walked in one time when I was trying to convince her. We've never kissed or done anything like that but we were pretty close together so it looked a bit dodgy - that's why I reacted the way I did when we met him, Hugo and Razor in The Three Broomsticks."

It was all starting to make sense. Jessie couldn't believe how blind she'd been.

"Why did you kiss me?" she asked again. "I mean, you've said it was to see if something you'd suspected was true... but I mean, you _knew _Leanne would be jealous, that was a given; it's as if you knew Al would react badly too – you thought he liked me?"

"I... I knew he didn't like _me_," said Mark. "He seemed to have sensed something was not quite right between me and Leanne. Throwing his best friend into the mix was just too much to handle-"

"So you used me," said Jessie, bluntly.

"No!" cried Mark, looking horrified. "No! Honestly, Jessie, you're probably one of the best friends I've ever had! It was pure coincidence that you were friends with Al! I honestly didn't mean to get you caught up in all of this, to cause so much damage to you friendship with him - I mean that with all my heart."

Jessie regarded him for a moment.

"Fine, fine, you big tit. You could have thought your whole plan through a bit better, though!"

"So... you're not mad?"

Jessie smiled, "Nah. If I'm truly honest, something's not been right between me and Al for ages; this all just bought it to a head. I'm not sure what's going to happen between us now, though. He was _really_ harsh."

"I know," said Mark, looking angry at the memory. "He was completely out of line – I'm glad James punched him!"

"Yeah, well," said a voice from behind him, "I'd rather it was your thumb that got broken rather than mine!"

Jessie and Mark looked round and burst out laughing.

"You look like an absolute tool," chuckled Mark, looking at James' hand in plaster. "Why didn't you getting it fixed magically."

"I've had alcohol, so Madam Nightingly wouldn't do a spell on it," he growled, looking pissed off. "So now, I have to wear this until it's all out of my system. Bloody Al, the little twerp."

"Do you feel bad about hitting him?" asked Jessie, getting up off the floor and rubbing her bum. "I mean, what he said was completely out of order but he _is _your brother."

"Look," said James, looking serious for once in his life, "I didn't really hit him for what he said to me – I mean, yeah, he was a complete tosser to me and, honestly, I'd have told Voldemort to do one if he'd been after me, rather than try to and disarm him with some poxy spell which would've sorted things out a hell of a lot quicker, in my opinion – but it was because of what he said to _you_ that I smacked him one; he was way out of line and, although the Yank's a bit of a twat, he's alright; there's worse people you could kiss."

Jessie was genuinely touched.

"James, that is so sweet of you; seriously, I never knew you cared that much about me!"

She leaned forward and gave him a massive hug, startling James, who had never had such close contact with Jessie and found, much to his surprise, that he liked having her pressed up against him... and not in a rude way, either.

Ah, bollocks, thought James as Jessie pulled away.

His line of thought was interrupted however, when Jessie said to Mark, "So, what're you gonna do about yours and Leanne's secret love affair now Al's out of the picture?"

"What?"

* * *

**A/N: Very short I know but the next few chapters will be longer and a lot more fun-filled; James' birthday is coming up...**


	36. The Camping Trip

**A/N: Before you get cracking on this chapter, I'd just like to say a MASSIVE thank you to everyone who has read or reviewed this story. I read every one and appreciate them greatly. If you have any questions, just stick them in a review. I really hope you enjoy this chapter - it's my favourite one so far!****...**

"JESSIE, where's my toothbrush?"

Jessie looked up from the book she was reading and rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, James?" she said, in the direction of the bathroom. "You turn 20 in two days' time and you're me where your toothbrush is?"

James stuck his head of the bathroom door and glared at her.

"Hey! _You're _the one who re-ordered my entire bathroom because it was 'a complete state'!"

"Well it was!" exclaimed Jessie, dumping her book on the bed and marching past him into the bathroom.

Instantly finding the toothbrush, she handed it to him and sat back down again.

James scowled at her.

"If I'm going to be spending two evenings a week here," she continued, crossing her legs and fixing him with an icy stare, "I want to be safe in the knowledge that I won't be in danger of catching _herpes_ every time I visit your bathroom!"

James just tutted and continued his packing.

Jessie had been spending a large amount of time with James since her bust up with Al; knowing she didn't want to be anywhere near his brother, James offered her the chance to help him plan lessons Care of Magical Creature lessons with him, which she jumped at.

Since then, they'd been pretty much inseparable, only parting when they each had classes.

Whilst the two of them hadn't thought much of it, James had caught Sienna staring jealously at Jessie on more than one occasion.

He didn't mention it to her, however, and allowed the memory to slide each time it happened.

James' need for a toothbrush was down to the fact that they (him, Jessie, Mark, Rose, Hugo, Lily, Finch, Razor, Barrat, Terri, Jas and Nathan – _not_ Al) were off on a camping trip for James' 20th birthday.

Admittedly it was now mid-November, but due to a rather massive spell backfire, courtesy of the Ministry's weather team, they were now experiencing May conditions; so, whilst it wasn't blazing sunshine and bikinis, it wasn't freezing either.

Finally satisfied he'd packed everything, James said, "Alright Goldstein, let's go camping!"

FINCH was feeling supremely uncomfortable.

He, Hugo and Razor were stood in the Entrance Hall, waiting for the rest of the group to arrive.

Much to Finch's horror, Hugo had invited Barrat along on their little soiree, having become good friends with him again after their numerous one-on-one tutoring sessions.

Finch was constantly on edge, consumed with fear that Barrat would let slip their little secret.

Spending a whole weekend with him was going to be, Finch was certain, an absolute nightmare.

He felt his stomach flip as he caught sight of Barrat making his way towards them.

"Hey man," said Hugo, clapping him on the back as he reached them. "Got everything?"

"Yep," said Barrat, pulling two bottles of Firewhiskey from his jeans pockets. "This weekend is going to be fucking immense!"

"Mr Barrat, is that alcohol you've got there?"

Barrat nearly dropped the bottles he was holding as Harry's voice echoed around the Entrance Hall.

Spinning around, the bottles poorly hidden behind his back, he began uttering a completely unbelievable excuse.

He stuttered to a halt, however, when he saw Harry was nowhere in-sight.

Instead, James was stood twenty yards away, Jessie beside him, nearly wetting himself as he took in the horrified expression on Barrat's face.

"You bell-end!" cursed Barrat, his face reddening with humiliation. "I thought I was completely busted!"

James continued snorting with laughter as he spat out the same Voice-Converter Jessie had used to fool Al many months ago at the Burrow.

"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes – entertaining and scaring the wizarding community since nineteen-ninety...something," said James, holding up the Voice-Converter. "You can thank Jessie for that little prank!"

He went to pass the Voice-Converter back to her; Jessie looked repulsed.

"Hey, I don't want that back after it's been covered in your saliva!"

James looked offended.

"I haven't got a disease you know! I've kissed plenty of girls and none of them have died!"

"Didn't you give Maria Finkle the Clap once?" asked Lily, who had just arrived with Terri and Jas.

"Christ, we're only going for three days!" exclaimed Hugo, looking at the sheer amount of luggage his cousin and her friends had bought with them. "What the hell have you _packed_?"

"Shampoo, conditioner, moisturiser, make-up, shoes-" Lily began to recite.

"That was a rhetorical question!" interrupted Hugo, looking exasperated.

"'Rhetorical'?" repeated Lily, eyebrows raised. "I didn't know you knew any words longer than 'tits' and 'arse'!"

"Ha ha," said Hugo, sarcastically, sticking his middle finger up at her. "Barrat taught it to me."

"God, you two are such gay-boys," sniggered Razor

Finch stiffened as Barrat threw Razor a filthy look.

"Call me a fag again and I'll show youexactly what it's like to have something shoved up your arse!" he growled threateningly.

Razor looked terrified.

"Barrat, I was only joking!" he said hurriedly, holding up his hands in defence. "I know you're no faggot-lover!"

Finch inadvertently caught Barrat's eye.

The searing look he got in response made him regret it immediately.

Before Barrat could say anything further, however, James said jovially, "Right, so that's sorted, then. _Now_, who else are we waiting for?"

Everyone looked around and saw Rose, Nathan and Mark had yet to arrive.

"I should have known the American would be late," growled James, peering up the Grand Staircase for signs of their impending arrival.

"Oi!" he yelled, spying Mark a few floors up. "Get your girlfriend-stealing arse down here! Is that Rose and her victim I can see? Hurry the fuck up!"

Mark responded to James' yelling by sending a hex at him.

By the time Mark, Rose and Nathan had reached the rest of the group, James, with Jessie's help, had managed to stem the gunge that had been pouring from his ears and nose.

"You know, I could give you detention for that, Bass!" he spat, as Jessie syphoned the rest of the mess off of his clothes.

"Yeah, well," said Mark, with an evil grin, "I could just report you for snogging that Seventh Year Hufflepuff in Hogsmeade the other day..."

Jessie's mouth fell open.

"You did _what_?" she said, looking partly annoyed, partly upset. "What is _wrong_ with you? I thought you'd stopped messing around!"

James threw Mark a furious glare, before addressing Jessie.

"Actually, ye of little faith, _Catherine_ asked me to kiss her as part of her Potions experiment; she wanted to test the differences in saliva levels pre-and-post kiss, to know whether it made a difference to a love potion's strength or some shit like that. Anyway, she needed people aged between 14-and-19 and I was the only one who fit the highest age bracket, so I had to do it; it was all completely legit. Besides, Hugo snogged her, too."

Everyone turned to look at Hugo in surprise.

He was, unsurprisingly, grinning from ear to ear.

"It was awesome," he confirmed, looking very proud of himself.

"So," said James, turning back to a slightly-flustered Jessie, "What do you think about that, huh? Dick-face got it wrong."

Mark rolled his eyes, not looking at all bothered.

"Whatever, fag-ash," was his response.

Jessie, however, looked a little more humbled.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"Thank you," said James, just as something caught his eye. "Oh, bloody hell."

Everyone turned around to see what he was looking at.

Their eyes settled on Harry – the real one – walking towards them.

Barrat hastily checked the Firewhiskey was properly hidden.

"What do you want?" asked James rudely, looking his father up and down as he searched for a clue as to the reason for his appearance.

"Lovely to hear my son greet met with such enthusiasm," Harry commented, looking amused. "I've bought an extra person for your camping trip-"

"It better not be Al," interrupted James firmly. "I'm not camping with that miserable git!"

Harry's eyes betrayed a hint of sadness.

"No, it's not Al," he said calmly. "He's busy studying for his early NEWT DADA exam-"

James snorted.

"Geek," he muttered.

Harry ignored him.

"As I was saying," he continued, speaking to everyone, "One of your fellow classmates will be coming along this weekend – he needs to trap some specimens for his Herbology coursework."

"Who is it?" asked James, getting impatient.

Rose was nearly sick when Scorpius Malfoy stepped out from behind Harry, his expression stony.

"What?" blurted out James, staring between Harry and Scorpius in shock. "He can't come – he and Rose'll kill each other!"

Both Rose and Scorpius reddened.

"Thanks a bunch, James," muttered Rose, looking mortified.

Scorpius just glared at him.

"Well," said Harry, clapping his hands together, "Now that James has made things suitably awkward, I'll be off."

With a small nod to Scorpius, he began to make his way back down the corridor.

Just as he reached the doors to the Great Hall, he turned around and said, "And no-one kill anyone."

As he disappeared into the Hall, Rose, fixing James with a murderous glare, hissed through gritted teeth, "I can't promise anything."

"ARGHHH!"

Hugo came pelting out of his recently pitched tent, Hugo hot on his heels.

"Bee!" they both screamed, flailing their arms around their heads madly.

The rest of the group just stared at them.

"So," said James, rubbing his hands together excitedly, "Who's up for a barbeque? Everyone? Brilliant – get on it Rose."

"Wh-why do I have to cook?" spluttered Rose, looking cross. "For starters, we haven't got any food!"

James shrugged.

"Conjure some?"

"Ow!" He winced as Rose threw a saucepan at his head.

"Good God, James," said Jessie, looking disgusted as she put the finishing touches to the tent she and Rose would be sharing. "Did you ever even _read_ the books based on _your father's life_?"

James looked horrified.

"Why on earth would I want to read a bunch of books about how my parents - not to mention my aunts, uncles and _grandparents_ - shacked up with each other? If I want to have those kinds of nightmares I'll walk in on Lily in the shower again."

"Oh Jesus Christ," said Lily, looking furious. "You _had_ to tell everyone – I though we agreed to take that horrific incident to the grave with us!"

"As much fun as this is," cut in Scorpius, who had been attempting to create a pyramid with some wood he'd found nearby, "Rose is right – we've got no food and you can't just conjure some out of thin air. I'm happy to go to the shops and get some but I'll need someone to help me because I'm not up on all the muggle customs."

Everyone's eyes swung straight to Rose, who spluttered, "_Me_?"

"Yes, you," said James, spying a golden opportunity for spicing the weekend up. "You're the only one doing a NEWT in Muggle Studies and, frankly, you're the only one who understands all those bits of paper muggles call money. Now, pip along – I'm starving!"

"BASTARD," muttered Rose, as she grabbed her purse from the tent.

Nathan had quickly offered to go with Rose instead of Scorpius but James had swiftly shot him down by insisting he had to stay and help get the fire going and coach them all on survival techniques as he'd been on a Wilderness course when he'd spent time at a muggle Scout camp.

When Nathan had furiously exclaimed he couldn't be the _only_ one who knew how to light a fire, everyone shrugged.

"We only know how to light a fire by magic," said Jas, pointing out they weren't allowed to do spells away from Hogwarts.

"Even I'm banned," James said, "Just in-case some muggles accidentally see it and we're all exposed."

Obviously fuming but unable to see anyway around it, as the light was already beginning to fade, Nathan grudgingly agreed that Rose and Scorpius would have to go on their own; the group had unanimously agreed that too big a group would attract too much attention, especially since they weren't 'technically camping legally'.

"You'll just look like a couple going food shopping," added Hugo, helpfully.

Rose looked horrified.

"Ready?" asked Scorpius, as Rose crawled out of her tent.

"As I'll ever be," she said, trying not to look too daunted at the prospect of spending potentially two hours alone with Scorpius – she hadn't forgotten what had happened during their detention together. "Got the map?"

"Uh huh," he said, holding it up. "Let's go."

HALF an hour later and they'd come across a small Co-Op.

With Rose in the lead, they made their way inside and headed straight for the meat counter.

"Right, I think we should get a mix of sausages, burgers and bacon (we might as well shop for breakfast things, too). What do you think?"

Scorpius watched as she began grabbing packs of meat without waiting for an answer.

"You are so like your mum," he commented as she placed the food in the trolley he was pushing.

Rose's face went bright red.

"What do you mean?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant

"Your mum does that when she goes shopping with your dad," he replied, indicating the pile of food she'd just put in the trolley. "She makes a suggestion but doesn't wait for an answer – she just gets on with it."

Rose gaped at him.

"How do you know that?" she exclaimed.

"Uh, we _were_ friends for five years," said Scorpius, as though Rose were an idiot. "I did notice a few things!"

Rose looked embarrassed.

"Oh yeah," she muttered, feeling her face heat up again.

Tension filled the air as they both waited for the other to change the subject.

When neither of them did, they silently made their way over to the bread aisle.

Ten minutes later, they'd got everything they needed, paid and left the store.

Not another word had been said.

"LOOKS like it's gonna rain," said Mark, peering up at the darkening sky.

"Oh bloody hell," moaned James, looking at the sky, too. "That's all we need – pissing rain and no food!"

"You know, you could have gone and got it yourself," said Lily, who was getting fed up with James' whining. "You knew Rose didn't want to go with Scorpius but you made her!"

"Hey, you could have gone with her and made Scorpius stay here!" retorted James, looking annoyed. "But I suppose you were too afraid of breaking a nail!"

Lily swore at him before stalking off to her tent.

"I hope they're going to be alright," said Jessie, checking her watch. "They've been gone well over an hour – you don't think they've got lost do you?"

"Nah," said James confidently, as Nathan looked alarmed, "Rose is an excellent map-reader."

"I THINK we're lost," said Rose, frowning as she looked at the map in her hands and the rows and rows of trees and greenery around them. "According to the map, we should have reached a proper footpath by now."

Scorpius took the map off of her and quickly scanned it.

He looked to the heavens.

"Rose," he said, as slowly and calmly as he could, "You've been reading the map backwards _and_ upside down!"

Rose grimaced.

"Oops."

"Yes, oops is about right," said Scorpius, looking at his watch and then at the sky. "It's going to absolutely tip it down and we're sodding lost!"

"Hey," snapped Rose, trying to hide her embarrassment at having royally messed up their walk back to the campsite, "You're the one who insisted on carrying all the shopping!"

"Yeah, but I only did that because you said you'd got a map-reading badge from Brownies!" he cried, looking furious. "_How _you managed to find your way there but completely fuck-up the journey back is beyond me! I guess we'll have to break the no-magic thing; this is an emergency. Use your wand to find north."

Rose bit her lip.

"I don't have it," she said quietly, her face flushing.

Scorpius' eyebrows shot up.

"Excuse me?"

"I-I don't have it!" repeated Rose hotly. "I left it in my tent!"

"What? Why did you do that!" shouted Scorpius.

"Because we're not allowed to do magic outside of school and I couldn't see any reason why I'd need one on a shopping trip!" cried Rose, getting angry. "Anyway, I'm not the _only_ one here who can do magic! Why don't you use _your_ wand?"

Scorpius' cheeks flushed.

"Idon'thaveit."

"Pardon me?"

"I _said_, I don't have it…"

"What?"

"RAIN!" cried Hugo, flying into the tent James, Jessie, Mark and Nathan were sat in. "Thunder! Lightning! Everywhere-fucking-where!"

A loud rumble of thunder confirmed this.

"Oh, _what_?" said James, crawling forward to look outside. "Oh man, it's-fucking hell, _mind out_!"

Lily, Terri and Jas had come flying into the tent, arms flung over their heads to protect their hair from the torrential downpour that was now hammering the tent.

They flung themselves at Nathan who, at 6ft 1, was the biggest and broadest of the guys there.

"Oh God, I _hate_ thunder and lighting!" said Jas, holding tightly to Nathan as Lily and Terry nodded vigorously in agreement.

"Really?" said Jessie, looking surprised. "I love storms, they're amazing!"

"You guys are such pussies," said James, rubbing the place where Jas had accidentally kneed him in the head in her haste to get inside the tent. "A bit of lighting won't hurt you – you're all so small, if you stood in the middle of the _desert_ a bolt of lightning wouldn't strike you!"

"Ha ha," said Lily sarcastically, as Finch, Razor and Barrat made their way into the tent, all soaked to the bone.

"Bloody hell," said Finch, beginning to strip off his water-sodden clothes, "I hope Rose and Scorpius are alright – they're still in the forest and if the lightning hits one of those trees…"

Nathan's face was ashen.

"We should go and look for them," he said urgently. "They've been way too long; the shops were only a mile away-!"

"Don't be silly, we can't go looking for them in this weather!" exclaimed Barrat, much to everyone's surprise. "It's getting darker by the minute and even if we use our wands to locate them, we'll still have to go and find them! We'll just be putting ourselves in danger!"

Finch raised his eyebrows.

"As much as I hate to say it," he said, currently wearing nothing but his boxers, "Barrat's right –Rose isn't stupid and Scorpius _certainly_ isn't. They've probably already found somewhere safe to wait out the storm. As soon as it's cleared and it gets light, we'll go and look for them."

Everyone looked at each other and then nodded.

"Great, so it's settled," said Barrat, looking relieved. "And Finch, as much as I appreciate your support, please put some clothes on!"

Finch rolled his eyes but managed a small smile as Nathan passed him some dry clothes to wear.

"You two better strip, too," said Jessie, indicating Barrat and Razor. "You'll catch your death of cold if you stay in those clothes!"

"Who are you, my Nanna Molly?" teased James, as the boys began to undress.

"No," grinned Jessie, as Mark began instructing everyone about where they were going to sleep, Lily, Terri and Jas too afraid to go back to their own tent, "Which you'll probably be glad about as I intend to snuggle up to you if I get cold tonight – you're the warmest person I've ever met!"

James' stomach – and something else – twitched as she laid a cool hand on his boiling hot arm.

"You know," said Mark, settling down next to them, interrupting James' rather impure thought-track, "Despite the fact that they're probably absolutely soaked and freezing their arses off, I envy Rose and Scorpius."

"Why's that?" asked James, keen to distract himself from thinking about where else Jessie could put her hand.

"Because they, my friend, have all the bloody food!"


	37. The Storm

"I still can't believe you don't have your wand with you!" said Rose as she and Scorpius tramped through swathes of greenery, their feet squelching in the mud as the rain continued to pour down.

"Yes, and I can't believe you got us lost!" cried Scorpius, wiping water out of his eyes. "We're in the shit here, Rose – if we don't find shelter soon we're going to freeze to death!"

"Um, yes, I _had_ realised!" spat Rose, looking furious. "So what do we do?"

Scorpius threw her a filthy look.

"We find somewhere to wait the storm out and pray we don't die of pneumonia. Now, keep your eyes peeled and for Merlin's sake look out for any rivers – I can't swim, so if you fall in you're as good as dead. Now come on!"

With that cheery thought, Rose gritted her teeth and began looking.

"Aha – FOOD!"

Blankets and pillows went flying everywhere as everyone scrabbled to see what Hugo had unearthed.

Their excitement faded instantly when they saw what it was.

"Bertie Botts Every Flavour BEANS!" cried James, looking both appalled and devastated. "We might as well just start gorging ourselves on the grass!

"Bloody hell!"

"This is better," said Scorpius, as he and Rose settled themselves in a dark but dry cave. "We should stay here until the storm passes. Hungry?"

Lily ignored the question.

"Why don't you have your wand?" she asked for the millionth time.

"No?" said Scorpius, pretending not to hear her. "More for me then!"

Rose narrowed her eyes as he tucked into a packet of Jaffa Cakes.

"Give me one," she snapped.

Scorpius duly passed her one, a small smile playing on his lips.

As Rose nibbled, she mused, "It's funny how every girl I've ever met eats these in exactly the same way: bite off the edges, scrape off the chocolate, eat the jelly then finish off the sponge. Guys though, they just whack it all in in one. Why is that?"

"Dunno," said Scorpius, as he polished off his fifth cake. "Guess we just want to enjoy it as fast as we can."

"Is that the approach you take with your sex-life with Haley?"

Scorpius raised his eyebrows.

"I didn't mean that!" Rose said hurriedly, turning a deep red. "What you do with Hayley is really none of my business!"

Scorpius shrugged.

"There's not much to tell really; we shag, that's it. I don't love her, I never will and she knows that. She's sleeping with Liam too, which is pretty hilarious."

"She's sleeping with _Liam_?" repeated Rose, looking shocked. "He's cheating on _Carla_?"

"I don't know why you're surprised," said Scorpius, opening a bag of Doritos, "He cheated on you."

Rose grimaced at the memory.

"Yeah, okay, but doesn't it _bother _you?"

Scorpius shook his head.

"Nope; I already said I don't love her. So long as she doesn't give me a disease then I don't care. Mind you, if Liam's still sleeping with Carla as well I should probably watch out – I wouldn't touch her with a barge pole!"

"She's your cousin," Rose pointed out, still looking shocked.

Scorpius laughed.

"You know what I mean; girl's nasty. Actually, you should probably get checked. I'm pretty sure Liam was shagging her whilst he was still with you."

Rose felt her face heat up again.

"We, er, we never um, we never slept together. Liam and I, I mean. I kind of wanted to make it a special moment; glad I didn't bother now. Cheers for telling me, by the way," she added sarcastically, "Really appreciate it."

"Wh-!" exclaimed Scorpius, looking exasperated. "What the hell was I meant to do, walk up to you and be all like: 'Hey, Rose, I know we haven't spoken in over a year but just to let you know, your boyfriend's cheating on you. Okay? Great.'"

Rose glared at him.

"Fine," she said, reaching past him and pulling out a box of cream donuts from one of the shopping bags, "But you could have given me a hint or something!"

"Oh yeah?" said Scorpius, stealing the box of donuts from Rose's hand. "And you'd have listened to me, would you? No? Didn't think so."

"You are such a smug bastard," said Rose, grabbing the box back as Scorpius tucked in, "And a pikey. I thought you were Draco Malfoy's son, not Mundungus Fletcher's!"

Scorpius shoved the rest of his donut in her face.

"I swear to God, I'm going to start eating _you_ in a minute!" growled James to Jessie as he gnawed agitatedly on his thumb whilst Lily rolled her eyes. "I bloody hate Rose. And that wanker Scorpius. Stupid bloody name anyway, 'Scorpius' – sounds like his parents didn't know how to spell scorpion so just whacked a random load of letters on the end instead. God I hate the Malfoys; do you know-"

"Oh my God, James, SHUT UP!" cried Lily and Jessie at exactly the same time.

"JINX!" they shouted before collapsing into laughter.

"Oh, fuck off," said James moodily, looking depressed. "This is the worst fucking birthday ever."

"Oh come on," said Hugo, who was currently trying to create a roast dinner from a mushroom he'd found outside. "It's not _that_ bad. My dad got poisoned on _his_ birthday!"

"I swear to Merlin, if I hear another _bloody_ story about how our _damn_ parents saved the wizarding world I am going to-!" James began furiously.

"Alright, alright!" cried Hugo, not caring to hear any more of James' whinging. "I won't say another word! I just wish I wasn't so _bored_!"

"Oh my God!" yelled Barrat, making everyone jump. "I completely forgot I bought firewhisky with me!"

"BOOZE!" cried James, looking happier than he had done in hours. "Get a bloody move on you little git and get it out; you've tortured us enough!"

Barrat dashed out of the tent, swearing as the rain hit him and returned moments later, two bottles clutched in his hands.

"Right," said Mark, who had been slumped in the corner of the tent playing thumb war with Terri, "Everyone get in a circle – we're going to play a little game called 'I never'…"

"I've never slept with anyone," said Rose, digging into the bag of Doritos Scorpius had opened earlier. "Not Liam, not Nathan, no one! I've never done anything sexy, like dress up or do… you know… sexual stuff. The only time I've ever had white stuff on my face is when you shoved that donut in it. Oh and when James exploded a bottle of talcum powder everywhere. Wow, dad was mad. Good times."

"You know Rose, it doesn't matter that you've not done all that stuff," said Scorpius gently. "It's overrated anyway; most of the time it's pretty crap."

"I'll say," said Rose, shoving a handful of Doritos in her mouth, "The best kiss I've had was from you, for crying out loud, and that was only to reassure me that it wasn't my terrible kissing that put Michael Corner jnr off me! Nathan and I kiss, obviously, but I don't know, it's just not the same. Maybe I really am bad at it and my kiss with you was a fluke. Wow, as if I'm from the same gene pool as James."

Scorpius gaped at her.

"Blimey, Rose, are you sure those crisps aren't alcohol-infused?"

"Yep," said Rose brightly, shaking her head. "I've just had too much sugar; it makes me really hyper!"

"I'll say," said Scorpius as he watched her make a beak out of two Dortios. "I'd forgotten how funny you can be when you're all full of e numbers!"

"Fank you," she grinned through a mouthful of mashed up crisps. "And I'd forgotten how un-uptight you can be! I can totally see why we used to be friends!"

Scorpius smiled.

"Can you indeed?" he said as Rose took a swig of cola. "Well, maybe us getting lost was a blessing in disguise…"

"Me _again_?" exclaimed Jas, looking perplexed. "I'm running out of things to say!"

"Pull the other!" said Terri, who was cosied up to Mark, unaware his heart belonged to another. "You're the most angelic person here! There's tons of stuff you haven't done!"

"That's not true!" she argued, looking wounded. "I've sky-dived, I've swum with sharks-"

"No-one gives a toss about that stuff," interrupted Terri, taking a sip of firewhisky, "Not in this kind of game anyway. I'm talking _sex_ stuff!"

"Oh."

Terri nodded.

"Exactly. So what _sex_ stuff have you never done?"

Jas blushed.

"I've never _properly_ kissed a guy…"

James, Mark, Terri, Jessie and Lily all grinned and took a shot.

"James, Mark!" cried Jas, looking shocked. "You've snogged a _guy_?"

Mark's grin grew wider.

"It was New Year's, I was pissed," he said, by way of explanation.

"I'm James," said James simply.

"Fair," said Jessie, looking unsurprised as she refilled her mug. "Spin again, Jas."

Jas duly did as she was told.

It landed on Jessie.

"Aha!" said Jessie, looking excited. "Okay, I have never… kissed James!"

"Oh come on," began Hugo, looking exasperated. "No one here will have-"

But he was wrong.

"Terri!" cried Lily and Jas, looking horrified as their best friend took a small sip from her cup.

"You!" exclaimed Jessie, throwing a shocked look at James who was staring determinedly at his glass.

"There had to be one," said Mark, shaking his head.

"When-" began Lily but Terri was already on it.

"It was a couple of years back, after the Summer Ball. We'd been drinking."

"I swear," said Lily, looking disgusted, "I am never letting you touch alcohol again!"

"Whatever," said Terri, rolling her eyes, "It's not like I enjoyed it!"

"WHAT?" screeched James, spilling firewhisky everywhere, his silence on the subject well and truly over. "You didn't _enjoy_ it? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Maybe you're a crap kisser?" suggested Jessie, a little too harshly.

James rounded on her.

"Hey!" he said indignantly. "Now I may not claim to be the best person for relationships and all that crap but I am the grand _master_ of kissing! If Terri didn't enjoy it then there's obviously something wrong with her!"

"Fuck you, James," said Terri, looking unconcerned.

"I don't believe you," said Jessie stubbornly.

"Oh no?" said James, looking determined.

And then, for the second time in as many weeks, Jessie was kissed.

But this time, she kissed back.


	38. The Key

A/N: Happy New Year! Here's a brand new chapter - a 2012 treat, if you will - enjoy!

"Wahey!" cried Mark, as Jessie and James' kiss deepened. "Fucking hell, that kiss's better than the one you gave me!"

"Good grief!" exclaimed Jas, as Lily gagged and Terri rolled her eyes.

"God, I wish a girl would snog me like that," said Hugo, looking depressed as Razor nodded.

Finch and Barrat looked at each other and raised their eyebrows.

Nathan just looked amused.

With one final kiss, James and Jessie pulled apart, their eyes full of wonderment.

"Jesus, Jessie, as if you let him tongue you!" said Lily, looking disgusted. "Don't be surprised if you get herpes."

James glared at her.

"Shut up, Lily," he said.

"Make me," she countered, squaring up to him.

"Alright, alright!" cried Mark, getting between the siblings. "I think the important thing to focus on here is this: Jessie, is he any good?"

There was a pause as Jessie let the tension heighten, before grinning and saying, "Very."

"Ha, HA!" cried James triumphantly, punching the air and sticking two fingers up at Terri. "Suck on that, Humphries!"

"Yeah, yeah," said Terri, with a dismissive wave. "I'd still rather kiss anyone but you."

"Even me?" asked Hugo, eagerly.

Terri gave him a sympathetic look.

"Yeah, in your dreams, mate."

"I am so cold," said Rose, rubbing her arms.

"Really?" asked Scorpius, looking concerned. "Here, wear this."

"Oh no!" said Rose, looking alarmed as Scorpius began removing his coat. "No, I don't want you getting cold, too!"

"Look, I'm a Malfoy – I'm used to a chilly atmosphere!" he quipped, draping the coat around her. "At least you'll be the Rose to my Jack, rather than the other way around."

Rose looked at him.

"Are you seriously referencing Titanic?"

Scorpius grinned.

"Yep."

Rose shook her head.

"Dear god," she said, before continuing, her face reddening, "What I was actually going to say was… erm… well, I think it might be a better idea if we maybe… uh… huddled together a bit – you know, use our body heat for warmth?"

Scorpius raised his eyebrows.

"Rose Weasley, are you trying to seduce me?"

There was a terrible spluttering sound as Rose choked on the gum she'd been chewing.

"No!" she cried, looking horrified. "No, nothing like that! I was just – it just seemed-"

"Rose, I was joking!" laughed Scorpius, grabbing her towards him and plonking her down between his legs.

Rose stiffened.

"What are you doing?" she squeaked, as Scorpius wrapped his arms around her.

"Doing what you said," he said softly, his breath tickling her ear and sending a shiver down her spine. "Now, shut up and try and get some sleep; if James is lead of our search party, we're going to have a very long wait."

Rose gulped and tried to do as she was told.

"It's stopped raining!"

Everyone moaned as Nathan's voice rang out around the tent.

"I don't give a shit if there's rainbows and fairies, I am not getting up," groaned Barrat.

Everyone grunted in agreement.

Nathan looked furious.

"Um, excuse me but have you all just forgotten that_ Rose and Scorpius have been missing for_ _hours_?"

Everyone sat bolt upright.

"Merlin, I completely forgot!" said Finch, looking startled.

"Me too!" said Hugo, looking guilty. "Wow, I must be the worst brother in the world!"

"I think Uncle Percy took that prize back in the day," commented James, who was tugging on a jumper. "Now, let's hot foot it – I may be hung-over as hell but if we don't find Rose, Uncle Ron is going to have our guts for garters!"

"I have never been so stiff in my life," said Scorpius as he and Rose untangled themselves from their awkward sleeping position. "Although…"

"Gross," said Rose with a grimace.

Scorpius grinned.

"Sorry, sorry. I'll be back in a minute – nature calls."

As Scorpius made his way out of the cave, Rose couldn't help but let a great big smile spread across her face.

She and Scorpius were finally back on track and it felt as though a massive weight had been lifted – one she hadn't even realised she was carrying around.

Things were finally looking up for the two of them.

However, in all her excitement, she'd forgotten one very important person – Nathan.

James, Jessie and co. had decided they would be more productive in their search for Rose and Scorpius if they split into groups.

"Okay," said James, who had taken the role of 'Leader'. "So the groups are:

"1. Nathan and Mark, 2. Lily, Terri and Jas, 3. Hugo, Finch, Razor and Barrat, 4. Me and Jessie. You lot will search the woods whilst Jessie and I stay here in case they find their way back-"

"So, basically you two'll stay dry whilst the rest of us get covered in mud?" asked Lily, looking cross.

"No talking," said James, without looking at her. Lily looked furious.

"Now, we will set a two hour search limit – if we don't find them by then, we're fucked anyway. Jessie and I will shoot orange sparks when the time has ended, which will help you find your way back to camp. If you find them, shoot green sparks, then everyone will know all's well and Jessie and I can shoot our sparks again, same as when time's up. If you're in trouble or you find Rose and Scorpius are, it's red sparks. Kapeesh? "

Everyone nodded, Lily still looking grumpy.

"Good," said James. "Onward!"

"Right, I personally think we should stay put," said Scorpius, as he and Rose debated what they should do. "We've got completely no idea where we are and if they're searching for us – which they bloody better be – they won't find us if we're wandering around too. Agree?"

Rose nodded.

"Agreed. Game of Slaps?"

"So," said James, as he and Jessie settled themselves in the mouth of the tent, "You think I'm a good kisser, huh?"

Jessie rolled her eyes but couldn't suppress a smile.

"Yes, James," she said mockingly, "You're a very good kisser. It's a shame you're a teacher this year – Hogwarts' girls are missing out!"

James smirked as he conjured a glass of water.

"Who says I'd want to get with Hogwarts girls anyway?" he asked, swilling the glass of water before swallowing the entire contents in one go.

Refilling it, he passed it to Jessie.

"Hogwarts girls not good enough for you anymore?" she asked, taking a sip. "School girls too immature now you're nearly 20?"

"No," said James, trying to keep his voice light, not wanting to reveal his true intentions. "I mean, I don't want to just get with loads of girls anymore – I want a real relationship."

Jessie looked at him, eyebrows raised.

"Seriously? Didn't you say just last night that you were crap at relationships?"

"Well, yeah," said James, looking uncomfortable. "But then I wasn't great at kissing and now look at me!"

He paused for a second then grinned.

"Oh, who am I kidding – I've _always_ been awesome at kissing; sex too, just in-case you're interested."

Jessie rolled her eyes.

"You're disgusting. But, seriously seriously – you actually want a _girlfriend_? You know you can't shag or kiss other people while you've got one?"

James looked offended.

"Hey, I've had girlfriends before and not cheated on them! … Okay that last bit's a lie – but I was immature then and I didn't even really like them that much!"

"Then why did you date them?" asked Jessie pointedly.

"Because I could?" shrugged James, like it was obvious.

Jessie shook her head.

"Well okay – so say that's true; say the only reason you've never been successful in relationships before is because you've not actually liked the girl that much – do you actually properly like someone now?"

James grinned.

"Maybe," he said, waggling his eyebrows at her.

Jessie punched him in the stomach.

"Ow!"

"You are such a tease!"

"And you're a bully! Why do you care anyway? Got your eye on me, have you?"

Jessie scoffed, her cheeks turning pink.

"You wish," she said, turning away from him and pretending to look for something in her bag.

Well, thought James as he watched her, if that's not a yes, then I don't know what is.

He stomach gave a little leap.

My god, he thought, as Jessie gave up the pretext of looking for her lip gloss and continued sipping her water, I'm actually in love with Jessie Goldstein!

Al is going to have a fucking fit.

"As if my bloody sister went and got herself lost!" said Hugo in disgust. "And with Scorpius-bloody-Malfoy!"

"Does he like her?" asked Razor as they stumbled over fallen branches.

"Er _yes_," said Barrat sarcastically. "I've shared a Common Room with the guy for four years; he never looked happier than when he was hanging out with Rose. When they fell out last year, he was devastated – I don't think I saw him do more than brood and look angry for months – I don't think he even ate!"

"Merlin, as if someone likes my sister that much," said Hugo, looking bemused. "I mean, I love her and all but I couldn't stand to be married to her, incest aside and all that."

"I like Rose," said Finch, as they headed deeper into the forest. "She's always really lovely and she looked beautiful at Halloween."

"Oh god, don't you go out with her!" said Hugo, his disgust back. "I don't want my best mate shagging my sister – I wouldn't put up with it like my dad does!"

Barrat snorted.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that," he smirked, with a meaningful look at Finch.

Finch, so shocked at this admission, tripped over a root and landed face first in the mud.

"I hate nature," said Lily, picking a slimy leaf off of her shoulder. "Why James wanted to come camping is beyond me!"

"Probably thought we could all get hammered and he could shag Jessie," said Terri moodily, gingerly stepping over a tadpole-filled trench. "I can't believe he actually likes her!"

"He likes anything female," said Lily, leaping over the trench before holding out a hand to help Jas across.

"Lily, he _really_ likes her," said Jas, as she made it safely across and they continued on their journey. "I've been looking at him whenever she's around – he watches her like a hawk! Not in a creepy way, just like he can't get enough of her."

Lily stopped.

"Wait – are you actually serious?" she asked, looking genuinely shocked. "James actually _likes_ Jessie; he doesn't just want to shag her?"

"He really, really likes her," said Terri, as Jas nodded. "Which would actually be quite sweet if Al wasn't in love with her, too."

"Yeah, that's a bit rubbish," agreed Jas.

Lily was gaping at them.

"James and Al _both_ love Jessie? Since when?"

"Erm, since _forever_," said Terri sarcastically. "Merlin Lily, how blind _are_ you? They're your brother, for crying out loud!"

"Like I pay much attention to them!" scoffed Lily, with a roll of her eyes. "Their sex lives do _not_ interest me."

"Sure, but _you do remember _Halloween and their ma_hoosive_ fight, right?" said Terri, looking exasperated.

"Um, _yes_!" said Lily, looking annoyed. "Obviously I do, it was the worst I've ever seen them have!"

"Yes," said Terri slowly, "And what were they fighting about?"

"Al was being an arsehole to James?" struggled Lily.

Terri smacked herself on the head.

"No!" said Jas, jumping in. "That's what it _seemed like _but _really_ it was about Jessie – Al was insanely jealous about her kissing Mark and James tried to defend her; hence, nasty character assassinations!"

"Wow," said Lily, looking stunned, "As if I missed all that!"

"Yeah, you can tell Hermione's Roses mum and not yours alright," said Terri, looking disgusted.

"Do you think they're alright?" asked Nathan, looking worried as they walked along a muddy path.

"Definitely," said Mark, pointing to a promising looking cave. "They're the two brightest students in the year – if they're dead, it doesn't hold much promise for the rest of us, does it?"

Nathan's face paled.

"I'm getting bored," said Rose, with a sigh.

"My company that bad?" asked Scorpius, with a grin.

"No," smiled Rose, giving him a playful smack on the arm, "But sitting in a cave for twelve hours isn't really my idea of a great day out!"

"Yeah, have to agree with you on that one," said Scorpius, getting up and stretching.

"It has been fun though," Rose assured him as she too got up. "I mean, it's made me so happy that, as it turns out, you _do_ still like me!"

"Rose," said Scorpius, looking shocked, "I never meant to… I never stopped liking you. I just… oh, come here."

And to Rose's utter surprise, he pulled her into a massive hug.

"You never stopped being my number one, Rose Weasley," he said softly.

"Um, excuse me for interrupting," said a cold voice. "But I'd like to hug _my _girlfriend."

Rose and Scorpius leapt apart to see a seething Nathan at the cave's entrance, Mark stood behind him, an intrigued grin spreading across his face.

"Shit," muttered Scorpius.


	39. The Story

_SUMMARY: Jessie and James have kissed and sparks have flown – but is it real or just part of James' usual tricks? Rose and Scorpius have made up but Nathan's appearance has put a spanner in the works._

"So," said Mark, as he and Scorpius walked ten paces behind Rose and Nathan, who appeared to be arguing, "You're in love with Rose, then? I am _so _observant!"

Scorpius scowled.

"Well," continued Mark, oblivious to Scorpius' displeasure, "At least you don't like Jessie too – that ship's already overcrowded. Is that why you and Rose fell out? Because you liked her and you didn't think she felt the same way?"

Silence.

"No worries, my man," said Mark happily, clapping him on the back. "I'm sure you'll tell me about it one day. All in good time, as they say, all in good time."

Scorpius glared at him.

"Green sparks!" cried Hugo, looking ecstatic. "Thank fuck for that! Time to head back, chaps!"

"James, there's some green sparks!" exclaimed Jessie, needlessly pointing them out.

"Yes, I'm not blind, Jessie," said James sarcastically, shooting orange sparks up in return.

"Green and orange sparks, green and orange sparks!" cried Jas giddily.

"Thank the bloody gods for that!" grumbled Lily and Terri, both looking relieved.

"Nathan _please _don't be angry," pleaded Rose, feeling utterly miserable. "It wasn't _my_ fault we got lost… well, okay, maybe it was, but I didn't do it on purpose!"

"I don't care that you got lost, I care that you got lost with _him_," spat Nathan, looking angrier than Rose had ever seen him. "He wants you for himself and he'll do anything to get you!"

Rose's stomach flipped.

"Don't be so ridiculous!" she said, fighting the urge to look back and see if Scorpius could hear what they were saying. "Scorpius is and always will be my friend – he does _not_ want me to be his girlfriend.

"Besides," she added, an odd sinking sensation filling her stomach, "He's already got one of those."

"We're baaa-aaccck!" sang Hugo, as he, Finch, Razor and Barrat got to the campsite. "So, who found them then?"

"Don't know yet," shrugged James, getting up and offering Jessie a hand.

"I hope it wasn't Nathan and Mark," added Jessie, accepting it and letting him pull her to her feet. "Nathan's already got issues with Scorpius as it is – if he finds them in even the slightest of questionable states, he'll hit the roof!"

"It'll be them, then, won't it," said James, conjuring up glasses of water for everyone and passing them around. "Sod's law, innit? Also, what's happened to you, Finch? It looks like an elephant's taken a dump all over your face."

"I tripped," growled Finch, with an icy look at Barrat.

"When we get back to the tent, there better be some food waiting for us," said Lily, as they tramped through the ever muddy mud.

"What's the betting James will have devoured most of it as soon as it hits the ground?" asked Jas, avoiding a pile of green sludge.

"I would say very, very high," replied Terri.

"James, you _cannot_ eat that – it's raw!"

"Sooooo?" whined James, looking longingly at the pack of bacon he'd just dragged out of the bag Scorpius was carrying. "I'm starving!"

Trying to grab the bacon off him, Jessie continued, "For a guy who watched The Inbetweeners _every single day_ for a _whole_ summer, have you _seriously_ forgotten what happened when they ate all that raw meat?"

James dropped the packet instantly.

"_Dude!_" he cried, pointing an accusing finger at Scorpius. "Stop trying to poison me, man!"

Scorpius gave him a cold look before picking up the bacon and setting to work on a new fire.

"There is something wrong with you," said Jessie, shaking her head and following Scorpius.

Looking a tad put out, James was quickly distracted by the arrival of his sister and her friends.

"Aw, crap," said James, looking disappointed, "I was hoping you guys might've fallen into a bog or something."

Lily and Terri gave him the two-finger salute.

Jas just looked upset.

An hour later, the group finally had something that resembled actual food.

"Grub's up," said Finch, who had been overseeing Scorpius' cooking efforts.

There was a stampede as everyone bar Rose rushed to get something to eat.

"You not eating?" asked Hugo, to Rose and Scorpius, through a mouthful of burger.

"Scorpius and I already ate loads," said Rose, with a nervous glance at Nathan.

"Oh yeah," said James, three whole sausages stuffed in his mouth, "So what happened to you guys?"

"Yes, Rose," said Nathan coldly, an untouched bacon sandwich in his hand, "What _did_ happen?"

Rose flushed but was spared answering by Scorpius.

Nostrils flared, he turned to Nathan and said, his voice filled with ice, "Well, _Nathan_, Rose and I headed off get food as requested-"

James swallowed his sausages guiltily.

"-both not realising we'd forgotten our wands. We found a Co-Op, bought some food, Rose was put in charge of map reading and that's where the trouble started…"

"I thought you were good at map reading?" interrupted Hugo, looking confused.

"Evidently not anymore," said Lily, before Rose could say anything.

Scorpius continued, "We got lost, it started to rain like hell, so we decided it was better to shelter than walk round the woods in the dark and get even more disorientated."

"Right," said Nathan sarcastically, shaking his head and taking a bite of his sandwich.

"That," said James, letting out an enormous burp, "Was the shittest story I have ever heard."

Scorpius glared at him.

"I'm serious," James continued, putting down his plate and looking annoyed. "Nothing exciting _ever_ happens!"

_BANG!_

"Holy crap on a stick, what was that?" cried Lily, looking around wildly.

Her jaw dropped.

"_Chuck_? What are you doing here?"

"Lily, there you are!" he said breathlessly, rushing towards her. "I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"Well," said Lily, getting off of her chair as he reached her, "I did say I was going out for James' birthday!"

"Yeah, well," bumbled Chuck, pulling out a magazine from his back pocket, "I forgot that when I saw _this_!"

He dropped the magazine in the middle of the table the group were sitting around.

Everyone looked down and instantly gasped in union, "Oh my god!"

_**Potter Brothers at War!**_

_The Wizarding World's great saviour Harry Potter is on the verge of a brand new battle: between his own _sons_!_

WizHip_ has been informed that James and Al Potter got into a HUMUNGOUS fight on Halloween, leaving the younger Potter Al with a broken nose and big bro James with a busted thumb._

_So, what were they fighting about?_

_Well, though it's not yet been confirmed by the Potters' spokesperson, it was over, not one, but _two_ girls!_

_Yep, the brothers got all heavy-handed after Al's, now ex, girlfriend Leanne Longbottom (daughter of Neville) flew off the handle and accused him of being in love with Jessie Goldstein (daughter of Anthony – there's no socialising with the non-famous for this lot!) after she kissed some guy called… Mark? Whatever, he's not famous. _

_Anyway, the green-eyed monster came out, Leanne took off, Al went nuts at Mark, then Jessie, then James._

_James, furious at Al's insults, then did what any red-blooded male would do… and smacked him in the nose._

_The two bros are now no longer talking and according to classmates, there's a very ugly atmosphere whenever they're in the same room together._

_So, what does this mean for Daddy? Having been appointed as new headmaster of Hogwarts, isn't it his job to make sure his sons set a good example to their fellow students?_

_Chuck Davis, boyfriend of fellow Potter sibling Lily, would say only, "I don't want to talk about Lily's dad."_

_What do you think readers? Will the lads make it up? Should Harry step down until it's sorted? Let us know at-_

"What. The. FUCK!" spat James, grabbing the magazine up, staring furiously at it, then chucking it into the fire. "What the fuck!"

"Oh my god," repeated Jessie, looking horrified. "What… I… oh my god!"

"Shit on a stick and bollocks," said Lily, grabbing the magazine before it properly caught alight, "What the fuck!"

"I think we need to go home," said Rose, looking solemn.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

By the time the group had made it back to Hogwarts, James was about to blow.

"Journalists are such arseholes!" he fumed, pushing open the gates and leading the way up to the castle. "What twat would ever want to be one!"

"Isn't your mum the Prophet's Quidditch Correspondent?" asked Chuck, shutting the gate behind them.

James swung round, looking furious.

"You!" he shouted, pointing an accusing finger at him. "You shut your mouth! You're the one who's been speaking to the bloody press!"

"Wh-no I haven't!" cried Chuck, looking mightily offended. "I didn't know they were press when they asked me about your dad – I just thought they were being nosey sods!"

"Come on, James," cut in Jessie, dragging him away as Lily smacked Chuck on the arm, "Don't go and get yourself in another fight, for goodness sake!"

"How angry do you think Uncle Harry is?" asked Rose, looking worried.

"Not as angry as Aunt Ginny will be," said Hugo as they reached the front steps. "She doesn't even know James and Al _had_ a fight!"

James grimaced.

"Aw, man!"

Once they were all inside, everyone bar Jessie bid a hasty farewell and retreated to their respective common rooms.

"Look," said Jessie, trying to sooth a frazzled James. "Maybe it'll be okay – your dad already knows about it so, really, how bad could things be?"

"James?"

Al's voice cut through them like a knife.

Looking round, Jessie felt her stomach fill with nervous butterflies.

Al looked as he always did – messy-haired and bespectacled – but with an odd coldness.

"Yeah?" replied James, narrowing his eyes.

Al raised his eyebrows.

"Dad's looking for us."

James felt his heart sink.

"Balls," he muttered, looking worried.

"It'll be fine," said Jessie, laying a comforting hand on his arm.

Al, seeing this, raised his eyebrows further.

"Also," he continued, his voice hardening, "A letter arrived for you; some girl called Clarissa said she had 'a great time' the other night and 'wants to do it again' sometime soon. I opened it by mistake…"

Jessie's hand instantly dropped.

James looked like he'd swallowed a bag of Blast-Ended Screwts.

Al, satisfied, said cooly, "Meet you in Dad's office," before disappearing.

As soon as Al was out of earshot, Jessie turned on James.

"Want a real girlfriend, do you?" she said sarcastically. "Ready for a relationship? Sounds like a pretty new development to me!"

"Jessie, I-" began James but she was already gone.

"Damn it!"

Ten minutes later James made it to his father's office.

However, once inside he was informed by Al that their father had had to leave after a First Year set fire to one of the greenhouses.

"He said if he's not back in 15 minutes we should leave," said Al, looking bored.

"Good," said James, looking furious, "That gives me the chance to ask: what the hell is wrong with you?"

Al looked surprised.

"What do you mean?" he said, fixing his brother with an icy stare. "I didn't tell the press about this!"

"I'm not talking about that!" spat James, taking an angry step towards Al. "I'm talking about how you 'accidentally' read my mail!"

"Oh," said Al, with a smug smile, "That. It was addressed to 'Mr Potter'."

"Yeah, but who would be writing to you?" said James nastily.

Al's face flooded with colour.

"You're such an arsehole, James," he said, his teeth gritted. "You think you're Merlin's gift to the world when, actually, you're a complete disappointment to everyone and you sleep with girls to compensate for it!"

James' lip curled.

"Yeah, well at least there are people who _want_ to shag me," he said. "Tell me, _Al_, what happened to the last girl who slept with _you_? Oh yeah – she _dumped_ you!"

Al swung for him.

James, ducking, let out a mocking laugh.

"Nice. Very good."

"You shut your mouth!" he yelled, looking like he wanted to try and punch him again. "You wouldn't understand what it's like to be in a _real_ relationship if your life depended on it!"

"Oh, fuck you Al!"

Al shook his head.

"What is wrong with you, James? Why are you getting so pissed off about this? It's not like you _want_ to meet someone!"

"Well, fat chance I'll have if you keep dropping me in it!"

Al looked confused again.

"What do you mean? With Jessie? Why do you care what she thinks?"

James flushed and looked at his feet.

Al's mouth slowly dropped.

"Oh no," he said, with an incredulous laugh, "Don't tell me you _like_ her? Oh dear, dear me. Well, it's not like she'd ever go for a guy like you!"

James looked up sharply.

"What does _that_ mean?"

Al shook his head, still looking amused.

"It means Jessie's far too classy a girl to ever get with a guy like you. Merlin, the things she's said about you-"

"What things?" asked James sharply.

Al regarded his brother with mirth.

"That you're a user, that you have no respect for women, that the idea of sleeping with you made her skin crawl… I could go on."

James looked like he'd received a bludger to the chest.

Al smiled coldly.

"Well, would you look at that," he said, glancing at his watch. "Our 15 minutes are up. Catch you around. Oh, and be sure to say hello to Jessie for me."

As he closed the door behind him, Al's smile slid from his face.

If James liked Jessie then, sooner or later, Jessie would like him back.

And that was a thought Al could not stand.


	40. The Backlash

_**Previously…**_

"**[Jessie thinks] you're a user, that you have no respect for women, that the idea of sleeping with you made her skin crawl… I could go on."**

James looked like he'd received a bludger to the chest.

Al smiled coldly."

…

"Why does shit stuff always happen to my family?" growled Lily, storming ahead to the Gryffindor Common, Terri, Jas and Chuck trailing in her wake.

"I mean, seriously!" she said, as they reached The Fat Lady. "Isn't it enough that my grandparents were slaughtered and my dad killed, without my own _brothers_ being murdered!"

"In fairness, I don't think your mum would go as far as Avada Kedavraing them," said Terri, stepping through the portrait hole after Lily and giving Rose a hand. "Bat Bogey, maybe."

"Pfft, I could do that myself!" scoffed Lily, chucking down her bag and throwing herself into an armchair.

"Look," said Chuck, trying to sooth his frazzled girlfriend, "As you mentioned, your family's been through a lot of crap; two brothers having a bout of fisticuffs isn't really the end of the world, is it?"

"Oh what do you know? Nark."

…

"So," said Rose, looking awkwardly between Nathan and Scorpius, "I guess I'll see you both later…"

"Wh-," said Nathan, looking surprised, "Where are you going?"

"Um, my Common Room?" said Rose, looking nervous. "I need a shower."

"No worries," said Scorpius, nodding. "I'm feeling a bit dirty too after our night together. See you at dinner."

Rose's mouth fell open as he walked away.

Feeling Nathan's eyes burning into her skull, she said hastily, "He meant dirty as in unclean."

He didn't look like he believed her.

…

"I'm going for a bath," said Finch, dumping his rucksack on his bed and grabbing his towel.

"God, you girl," said Hugo, stripping off his dirty clothes and chucking them at Razor. "Real men have showers."

"Well, why the fuck aren't you having a bath then?" snapped Finch, before storming out and slamming the door hard behind him.

"What the hell's wrong with him?" asked Hugo, looking a bit stunned.

"Dunno," said Razor, peeling off Hugo's dirty trousers. "But these clothes stink, man!"

"Yeah, I know," sniggered Hugo, all worry about Finch gone, "I made sure I let one rip before I threw them at you!"

…

"Men are such pigs," said Jessie, as soon as Rose came into the bedroom. "Seriously, why do we even tolerate them?"

"Who knows?" said Rose, sounding exhausted as she flopped down onto her bed. "I tell you, I thought having a boyfriend would be fun but ever since Halloween, mine's gone all funny!"

"Bloody Halloween," said Jessie crossly, "Fucked everything up."

Rose looked up from her state of exhaustion.

"Has something happened with Al?" she asked, looking concerned.

"Al, James, the whole fucking clan!"

Rose frowned.

"What?"

…

"Professor Potter!"

James ignored her.

"Professor Potter!"

James still ignored her.

"James!"

He grit his teeth and turned around.

"Yes, Sienna?"

Sienna looked delighted.

"Happy birthday!

"It's not my birthday until tomorrow," replied James coldly.

"Oh," she said, looking confused. "But I thought you went away to celebrate it?"

"I did. Then I came back."

Sienna wasn't quite sure how to proceed.

"Okay… so I saw the story – I thought you couldn't date students?"

James looked confused.

"What?"

"Jessie Goldstein? It said you were fighting with Al about her. But you can't have been because you don't date students, right?"

James stared at her.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?"

Sienna looked stunned.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me!" shouted James, taking a step towards her. "This is none of your fucking business, you stupid, psychopathic b-"

"Alright, alright!"

Scorpius rushed between James and Sienna, hands outstretched.

"Sienna, go… somewhere else. James, come with me."

"Wh-I-!"

"NOW, Sienna!"

Looking furious, Sienna did as she was told.

As soon as she'd disappeared from site, Scorpius turned to James and said, "We need to talk."

…

"Lily?"

Lily pretended not to hear him.

"Lily, you're in a mood, not deaf. Now hear me out. Please?"

She sighed and looked round at her boyfriend.

"What do you want?"

"You to forgive me."

"Why should I?"

"Because I didn't do anything wrong and you know it. You're just mad that journalists are arseholes."

Lily pouted.

"No I'm not."

"Yes," said Chuck, "You are."

Then he kissed her.

"Mwm-what're you doing?" she said, pulling away from him.

"Uh, kissing my girlfriend, I thought," said Chuck, looking annoyed. "Why did you stop?"

Lily flushed.

"Because I'm still mad at you… and… well… because I'm not ready."

Chuck frowned.

"Ready for what?"

"Well…" said Lily, her blush deepening, "_It_."

Chuck continued frowning for a moment… and then suddenly, he realised.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh."

…

Finch returned an hour later, wrapped in a towel, his skin red from the heat of his bath.

"Calmed down now, have you?" asked Hugo, looking up from his comic.

Finch took a deep breath.

"I have."

Hugo closed his comic.

"And?" he pushed.

Finch looked ashamed.

"And I'm sorry."

"For…?"

Finch rolled his eyes.

"For swearing at you – I was out of order."

Hugo let a moment pass… then he smiled.

"You're forgiven."

Finch looked relieved.

"Thank you. I was just feeling a bit… annoyed, still. About Barrat."

Hugo frowned.

"Why? What'd he do?"

Finch looked awkward.

"Well, nothing… recently. But, you know – we _did_ just spend the last few years having to watch our backs every day, in case Barrat or one of his 'friends' decided to do us in. I guess I'm just not quite as comfortable as you are with him yet."

Hugo put his comic book down, looking serious.

"You don't like Barrat?" he asked, his frown deepening. "I thought you two were getting along?"

"We are… sort of. I mean, we can talk and he doesn't want to smash my nose up anymore… I don't think."

"Well, then what's the problem?"

"It's…"

But Finch couldn't say it.

"It's… it's nothing. It's me. I suppose I just need to give myself more time – relax a little."

Hugo nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, mate. After all, you wouldn't wanna miss the beach trip he's planned for Christmas, would you?"

"Say what now?"

…

Al took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

There was a scuffling sound – then it opened.

"Al!"

"Hello Jessie."

…

"So," said Scorpius, as he closed the door to James' room, "What was that all about?"

James threw himself down on his bed, looking angry.

"That girl is a fucking nut case, man. I tell you, she freaks me out!"

"She knows about you and Jessie?" asked Scorpius, leaning against the wall opposite him.

"Yeah, she-" began James, before coming to an abrupt halt. "Wait, what do you mean, 'me and Jessie'? There's no me and Jessie!"

"Isn't there?" asked Scorpius, raising his eyebrows.

"No!" James tried to protest, his cheeks beginning to redden.

"No?" repeated Scorpius, his eyebrows still raised.

"Why is everything you're saying a question!" cried James, getting up off the bed, looking riled. "I didn't ask you in here, _Malfoy_, so if you're not going to say something constructive, then sod off!"

Scorpius' eyebrows rose higher.

"Well, _Potter_, if you let me know what's actually going on then I _might_ be able to help you…"

…

"Al, what're you doing here?" asked Jessie quietly, closing the door behind her.

"I need to talk to you," he said, looking nervously around him. "Rose not here?"

"She went for a shower."

"Oh."

There was an awkward silence.

"So…"

"Al, please just spit it out!" said Jessie, looking at her feet and trying to hide her discomfort with abruptness. "I've had a nightmare few days and I'd really like to catch up on some sleep."

"Right, yeah," said Al, looking as uncomfortable as Jessie felt. "So, you and James-"

Jessie's eyes snapped up.

"What do you mean? There's nothing going on there! What're you talking about?"

Al looked a bit stunned.

"Er, okay, I wasn't actually saying you were a couple…"

Jessie looked nauseous.

"Oh."

Al's eyes narrowed.

"Jessie, is-?"

"What _were_ you talking about?" Jessie interrupted hurriedly.

Al still looked suspicious but continued, "I was going to say, I think you and James should probably talk."

Jessie felt her stomach flip.

"Look, Al, if you saw us fight, I-"

"No, it's not that," cut in Al.

Jessie frowned.

"Then what?"

"I um… When James came to dad's office, we had a bit of a fight. You came up and I uh… well I…"

"You what?"

"I kind of… told him what you used to say about him – back before we fell out…"

"Al!"


	41. The Feelings

**Previously…**

"_**Jessie frowned.**_

"Then what?"

"I um… When James came to dad's office, we had a bit of a fight. You came up and I uh… well I…"

"You what?"

"I kind of… told him what you used to say about him – back before we fell out…"

"Blimey, listen to that," said Lily, putting a silencing finger over Chuck's mouth.

"What?" he murmured, looking surprised.

Lily pointed above her head.

"Upstairs…"

"What the HELL are you playing at, Al? Why would you _do_ that?"

"Oh come on, Jessie, why does it _matter?"_ cried Al defensively.

"Why does it- why does it _matter_?" repeated Jessie, looking incredulous. "Al, I never wanted James to hear any of that! I don't want him to think I don't-"

"Think what? That you don't like him? Jessie, who _cares_? It's only James!"

"It's only James? Al, he's your brother!"

"Pfft," said Al, shaking his head angrily. "He's no brother of mine – the way he's treated me-!"

"The way he's treated _you_?" cried Jessie.

"Yes!" shouted Al. "And stop repeating everything I say!"

"I've got to go and talk to him-"

"Jessie, don't!"

Jessie stopped, looking confused.

"Why not?"

"Because…" struggled Al, going red. "Because… well, I don't want you to!"

"Wow, they're really going for it," said Hugo, as he, Lily, Chuck, Finch and Razor crowded around outside of the 7th Year girls' dormitory. "How long do you reckon it'll be before Al blurts out he loves her?"

"Couple more sentences, I reckon," said Chuck, as Lily nodded.

"God, that's all we need," said Finch, shaking his head. "If Al admits he loves her and James finds out, it'll be the Great War all over again!"

"Nah," said Hugo, looking enlightened. "Nah, this reminds me of the time my dad thought Uncle Harry was in love with my mum!"

"Yeah," said Lily, her expression darkening, "Except this time it's not Uncle Ron getting his wires crossed!"

"What are you guys doing?"

Everyone jumped as Rose came up behind them.

"Stone me, Rose, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" hissed Hugo, clutching his chest. "What are you doing here?"

"This is my room!"

"Oh yeah..."

"Shhhh, keep your voice down Rose!" whispered Lily. "We're eavesdropping here!"

Rose looked confused.

"Why?"

"Because Al and Jessie are having a blazing row and it's more interesting than sitting in the Common Room watching Lily and Chuck get off," said Razor.

"Oi!"

"Leave me alone, Al!" shouted Jessie, pulling open the door and nearly flattening Hugo.

"What the-?"

"Alright, Jessie…?"

"So, you see, ever since me and Al fell out, I've been spending a lot of time with Jessie and… well… she's alright…"

Scorpius raised his eyebrows.

"Alright?"

"Yes, 'alright'!" snapped James, looking irritated. "And now I'm a bit confused! I mean, I never had a problem with Jessie – she was always game for a laugh. But now… well, it's like I'm seeing her for the first time! She's different, more exciting, we get on so well, she really understands me and I just… merlin, how could she _think_ that of me?"

Scorpius watched as James ran an agitated hand through his hair.

"Are you really surprised?" he asked quietly, his eyes trained on James' wand.

"Am I- you what?" said James roughly, looking scandalised. "What does _that_ mean?"

"It means your reputation precedes you, Potter," said Scorpius calmly. "You can't honestly think people don't think the same as Jessie did?"

"Malfoy, what _exactly_ are you saying?" said James, his eyes blazing. "Are you saying I _deserved_ to be called, _in essence_, a man-whore!"

"Yes."

"Why you-!"

"Oi, you watch where you're pointing that wand!" shouted Scorpius, his own wand in his hand in a flash. "Now you listen to me, Potter and you listen good. It is your own fault that Jessie – and might I add, the rest of Hogwarts – thinks you're a 'man-whore'; you've wined, dined and slept with more girls than Casanova! _However_, in the last few months, you've changed. I've seen it, Rose has seen it; everyone's seen it, including Jessie. You're more mature, more focused and above all, you've finally found a girl you really, truly like. And if you carry on like this, consumed by feelings Jessie had months ago, you're going to blow it. So my advice is, suck it up, tidy yourself up, and go and find her. Because if you don't, you can bet your bottom galleon that someone else will. Now hop to it, Potter!"

"Merlin," said James, looking stunned. "Never mind me changing; what on earth's happened to you?"

Scorpius gave him a small smile.

"One day you come to realise that some things are more important than your wounded pride. Now get out there and make good of your feelings before it's too late!"

"Oh, excuse me!"

"No worries," said the girl Jessie had just collided with. "Hey, I know you – aren't you that Jessie Goldstein that magazine was talking about? The one the Potter brothers had a barney about?"

Jessie pursed her lips.

"I don't really see how it's any of your business…"

"Oh no, no!" said the girl, looking embarrassed. "No, sorry, I just wanted to know whether you were dating James Potter or not?"

Jessie went red.

"I repeat, what business would that be of yours?"

The girl raised her eyebrows.

"Alright, calm down love. All I was going to say is, if you're not dating him then I think I'll have a crack-"

"No!" cried Jessie.

The girl looked surprised.

"No?"

"I-I mean," she said hurriedly, trying to backtrack. "You're so nice! And that James Potter… well, he's a bit of a toe-rag! No respect for women; uses you then loses you!"

"Really?" said the girl, sounding shocked. "I always thought he treated girls proper nice!"

"No," said Jessie, shaking her head furiously. "No that's all just an act to get you into bed! Take my advice and find yourself a nice, decent guy."

The girl nodded, looking thoughtful.

"Yeah, alright," she said, still nodding, "Yeah I'll do that. Thanks for the advice."

"Any time," Jessie called after her darkly. "Any time."

She turned around, silently congratulating herself on a job well done… and found herself face to face with James.

"Oh, bugger."

"James!"

James felt his chest squeeze but refused to turn around.

"Go away, Jessie!" he yelled, barging into his room, the door bouncing off the wall and leaving a large dent.

"James, please!" pleaded Jessie, following him in and slamming the door behind her. "Please, talk to me!"

James swallowed and said, his voice shaking, "I'm sorry, Jessie. I didn't think you'd want to speak to a man who just _uses_ women…"

"Oh, James!" said Jessie, coming round to stand in front of him. "James, please, I'm sorry! That wasn't what you think – I was trying to protect you! And everything that Al said, it was stupid. I didn't know what I was saying, I-"

"Wait," interrupted James, silencing her instantly, "When did you speak to Al?"

"Um-"

"Oh right, yeah I get it!" said James, walking away from her, looking furious. "Now Al's come back into the picture, you're feeling guilty about hanging out with the black sheep of the family, so you've come in here, all apologies, smoothing it out before you _ditch_ me and then head back to the side of righteousness!"

"_Ditch_ you?" shouted Jessie, flying round, her anger rising. "That's a laugh! Christ, you're the one who was all 'ooh, I want a girlfriend' at camping, then we come crashing back here and wham! You're having it off with some witch called _Clarissa_, I've got Al in my ear telling me he's told you everything I used to say about you and now we're having a blazing row and I don't even bloody know why!"

"Because I like you!" cried James, "I bloody like you and you like me, even if you can't admit it!"

Jessie looked shocked.

"I don't-!"

"Don't lie, Jessie! Why else would you be here, trying to get me to forgive you-"

"Oh, you know what James, forget it!" yelled Jessie, pushing past him and opening the door. "I don't want to talk to you anymore!"

"Fine!" James shouted after her, as she stormed down the corridor. "Be like that!"

"I will!" cried Jessie, as she crashed round the corner, narrowly avoiding smashing into Scorpius.

"Sorry!" she said, with an angry nod, scooting past him.

"No problem," muttered Scorpius, watching her go. "Guess the meeting with James went well, then..."


	42. The Date

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy biiirrttthhhdaaay dear Ja-ames, happy birthday to you!"

_SLAM!_

"Well," sniffed Rose, looking a bit put out, "That went well."

"Must be smarting over his argument with Jessie, the poor lad," said Lily, looking sympathetic.

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

"James!" she yelled, slamming her fist against the door. "James, you open this door right now!"

"No!" he shouted back. "Go away!"

"Still not coming out, huh?"

Rose felt her heart leap into her throat as Scorpius' voice reverberated around the corridor.

"Malfoy?" said Hugo, who had tagged along with Finch, Razor, Terri and Jas. "What're you doing here?"

"Same as you probably," he said, walking up to James' door.

"Excuse me, Lily," he added politely, gesturing for her to move aside.

She did as she was told but shot Rose an intrigued look.

Rose gave a small shrug.

"I don't know," she mouthed, indicating Scorpius' motives.

Everyone watched as he cleared his throat, tapped gently on the door and said quietly, "James, whilst you're in there sulking, it might interest you to know that Jessie has agreed to go on a date with Justin Gates."

The door instantly flew open.

"WHAT?"

James looked scandalised.

"But he's a poof! Well okay, not _literally_, but come on! He's such a _twat_!"

"Do I detect a note of jealousy?" asked Lily innocently.

"Shut up!"

"Dude, calm down," said Hugo, making a 'chill' movement with his hands. "She's only gone for, like, a drink with him – she's not _you_!"

"Oh, fuck off," snapped James, looking both panicked and pissed off. "I've got to stop her!"

"She already gone, mate," said Scorpius with a shrug. "They're browsing Hogsmeade first then going for lunch."

"Shit!"

"Um, James," said Rose tentatively, "Why don't _we_ go to Hogsmeade? You know, on the pretence that we're celebrating your birthday and all?"

"Which _was _actually our plan in the first place," cut in Lily, looking annoyed. "After camping went tits up, anyway."

"Yeah!" exclaimed James, a manic look in his eyes. "Yeah, that'll work! Right, I'll go get ready, you go get ready and then we'll crack on!"

"We _are_ ready!" said Rose, looking affronted.

James looked them all up and down and then laughed.

"Yeah, right! You guys are the best. Now piss of so I can get changed!"

"Okay, we'll see you at-"

_SLAM!_

"-the Great Hall," finished Scorpius, his eyebrows raised.

"Don't take it personally," Rose reassured him, as they all sloped off to the Great Hall for a late breakfast. "James has got the Weasley Drama in him."

"Well, you're a Weasley and you're not very dramatic," commented Scorpius, making Rose go red.

"I can be dramatic!" she said, looking offended. "I was dramatic that time I drank James' 'special brew'!"

"Rose, you were pissed off your face!"

"So? I was still dramatic!"

"Doesn't count," said Scorpius firmly as they entered the Great Hall. "Pick another example."

"Erm," said Rose, thinking hard. "On the camping trip! When we were lost!"

"Pfft!" scoffed Scorpius, waving it away. "That was _not_ dramatic. No, if I wanted a dramatic Weasley, I'd call on Lily."

Right on cue, Lily screamed.

"_Oh my God! There's an ant on the table! Get it away, get it away!"_

"See?" laughed Scorpius, as Terri and Jas flapped round her. "You lose, Weasley."

Rose stuck her tongue out at him.

"You're such a git," she said, failing to repress a smile.

"I know," said Scorpius, with a cheeky wink and a grin.

Rose felt her stomach flip.

_Stop it_, she warned herself, as Scorpius grabbed a bowl of cereal and poured some milk on it. _Scorpius is just a friend, nothing more. You're with Nathan. You love him. Sort of._

"So, Rose," said Scorpius, shaking Rose out of her thoughts, "Who's your favourite sibling or cousin?"

Rose frowned.

"Well..." she said slowly, picking up a banana from the fruit bowl. "I couldn't just pick one. They all have their own qualities. Lily, for example, is great for just going crazy. If you need to loosen up, Lily's your girl. Plus, she's not a prude, which is good for... you know... sex stuff."

Rose blushed, avoiding Scorpius' gaze.

"Then there's Hugo," she continued, willing her face to cool down. "He's my brother, obviously, a bit younger, so we don't talk about the kind of stuff Lily and I do but he's brilliant when it comes to supporting you. I know he can be childish sometimes but he's a got a lot of love. He'll always stick by you, no matter what."

Rose took a breath.

"James is... well, James is the protector. He's an idiot sometimes but if anyone hurts you, James is always there to give them a swift slap or whatever you need. I mean, look at how he was when Al insulted Jessie."

Rose suddenly looked sad and sighed.

"Al was great up until a few months ago. I still don't quite understand what happened there and to be honest I think I need to make more of an effort with him. He's very cold at the moment but I think with a little help we can get him back to how he was. Hopefully."

"And Jessie?" asked Scorpius. "I know she's not technically part of the family but-"

"-but she may as well be," nodded Rose. "Yeah, Jessie's like a sister to me. To everyone, I think. Although maybe not James and Al now. Their feelings would be rather incestuous otherwise!"

Rose laughed, making Scorpius smile.

"Gosh, my family's a mess," she said, shaking her head with a small smile. "Although if it wasn't we'd probably all be complaining that life was boring."

"True," agreed Scorpius, "Well all want something then once we get it we kind of think maybe we liked what we had before better. If that makes sense. Do you speak to your other cousins much?"

"Mmm, sometimes but they've kind of grouped together like we have. There's so bloody many of us; if we all hung out together all the time we'd be like an army! Our group is big already and that's without including Terri, Jas, Mark, Finch, Razor, Nathan and Chuck. Oh and Barrat, though that's still one I'm getting used to; that boy and his cronies made Hugo, Finch and Razors' lives a misery for years!"

"They were friends before though, weren't they?" Scorpius reminded her.

Rose frowned.

"Oh yeah," she said, looking surprised, "They were actually. I'd forgotten that. Gosh, that was weird, too. Their fall out, I mean. One minute they were all best buds then suddenly after the Summer Ball everything went wands up-"

Rose faltered, suddenly very aware of who she was speaking to.

"The Summer Ball wasn't a very good time for friendships, was it," commented Scorpius calmly as he finished off his cereal.

"No," said Rose quietly, "It wasn't."

They were spared from any awkwardness by the sudden arrival of James, who came crashing into the hall, hair all over the place, yelling, "Alright you ugly lot, let's go!"

"You are _so _obvious," sniggered Mark, as James sunk low into his CineWizard chair. "If she didn't notice you when you came in and tripped over all those booster seats, then she definitely did when that girl squealed and asked you for your autograph."

"Shut up, Mark," snapped James. "Why are you even here, anyway?"

"Because I was the one who knew where Jessie was and the only person who'd sit through a three hour film about goblins so that you wouldn't look like a total loser!"

"And I'm paying you five galleons."

"Yeah, and that," agreed Mark, with a massive grin. "I knew I was right to get in with the Potter clan, even if it was in a rather unorthodox way."

"You mean by how you completely fucked over my little brother's life?" said James nastily.

Mark raised his eyebrows.

"Woah, no need to get so heavy. Al messed things up all by himself. And you're hardly innocent in all this – you gave him a smack in the nose and snogged the girl he's in love with!"

"_Why you_-!"

"_Shhhh_!" hissed an angry looking woman in front of them. "Some people are trying to watch this, you know!"

James looked appalled.

"If you think this film is more interesting than our conversation, you've got issues you stupid old bag!"

"I can't believe you got us chucked out."

"Oh shut up, you tosser!" snapped James, looking furious. "This is the worst birthday _ever_!"

"Oh yeah!" exclaimed Mark, looking surprised. "I genuinely forgot about that! Happy birthday, bro!"

"Thanks," said James moodily, kicking a a stone at a passing cat.

Mark couldn't help pitying his friend as the cat spat at him and ran away.

"Oh, come on mate, buck up! You're a good looking young guy, you've got your health, your wealth, big hands and feet; so what if some girl doesn't like you? There's plenty more fish in the sea!"

James grimaced as he marched towards the Hogs Head.

"Okay, first of all, I can't believe you referenced my big feet; I'm feeling depressed not sexually inadequate. Second of all, you're talking bullshit – there's no one else like Jessie. She's unique, kind, beautiful... and a bloody idiot to go out with that knob head!"

He was referring to Justin.

"I mean, _seriously_, what does she see in him? Who wants to go and see film about _goblins_ for Merlin's sake!"

"Actually, I think that was Jessie's choice," Mark corrected him.

"Yeah, well, nobody's perfect! God, I need a drink..."

"As if James ditched us, the traitorous git!"

"All's fair in love and war, Lily," said Terri, as they headed into the Three Broomsticks, "And if I'd had to see that miserable sod's mug everywhere I turned for the rest of the day, there may well have been a war!"

"I just hope he and Jessie get together," said Jas, as they found a table. "I don't think I can take much more yelling."

"Believe me, Jas," said Lily, as the waitress came over to take their order, "This tale is far from over."


End file.
